


Sunshine

by BloodRedRose (orphan_account)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Allison is Deputy Argent, Angst, As in the Hale fire still happens, Car Sex, Dead Gerard, Dead Kate, Drunk Kissing, Everyone is grown up with their own professions, Everyone survives the Hale fire, F/M, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, McCall Pack, Misunderstandings, Outdoor Sex, Papa Stilinski and Mama McCall wedding, Pining, Protective Pack, Stiles Has Panic Attacks, Stiles is not in the know, The Hale Pack - Freeform, the weather of Beacon Hills ships sterek, why, why is the previous tag not an actual tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-18 16:02:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1434409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/BloodRedRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles wouldn’t be surprised, it seemed to be a theme with anyone he’s ever known. ‘This town is too dangerous, son.’ ‘Stiles, your father is just worried about you.’ ‘Stiles, I’m sorry man, but I kinda agree with your dad?’</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The guy was still walking in the same direction Stiles was.

It’s a 20 minute walk from Scott’s house to his dad’s house according to Scott, and, when Stiles checks his watch, it’s been just past 5. 5 minutes since he started the walk and the guy in the grey hoodie came out of the gym Scott owns with his gym bag thrown over his shoulder, hood pulled over his head as a shield from the rainwater falling in an annoying shower all over them. 5 minutes –well, past 5 minutes now, since Stiles has been walking behind the guy, and he’s feeling awkward, so awkward he wants to throw his umbrella at the guy with his shoulders hunched pathetically, his jeans making sloshing sounds every time he moves with the amount of rainwater it’s absorbed. Stiles is surprised the pants haven’t just dropped at the weight yet.

Stiles tries ignoring the guy. It’s his first day back in beacon hills since he left in his sophomore year of highschool- well, more like since his dad packed his bags and sent him off to stay with a distant uncle he didn’t know existed- so he deserves a little time to just adjust to being back in his home town.

The guy in the hoodie shakes his free arm. It’s not like it was going to make him any drier than he already is, what in the world was he even doing.

8 years since his dad just sent him away because “Stiles, this town isn’t safe”.

The guy was right in his range of sight. There was no one else outside stupid enough to walk in the rain, just a few cars passing by every now and then. Now it was just houses and trees and roads, none of which were moving, obviously. The only thing moving right now is the guy in the hoodie, looking all pathetic, gloomy and mysterious, right in Stiles’ range of vision.

The rain hasn’t stopped. Stiles checks the time on his wristwatch. It’s been 15 minutes since he started walking in the direction of the sheriff’s house.

"Uh…” Stiles observes the guy nervously for a while, not sure how to start.

“Hey!” Stiles calls. They guy doesn’t respond. Stiles thinks about getting up in his face and offering to share the umbrella but decides against it in case he gets punched in the face as he eyes the shapes of bulging muscles the hoodie was clinging onto.

“Hey, man!” Stiles honestly can’t tell if the guy heard him, so he jogs to catch up with guy and slows at his side to match his pace. “Dude, you’ve been walking in the rain for like 15 minutes, I could share my umbrella with you?” Stiles sees hoodie guy’s shoulders jerk and thinks he hears a snort.

“You recorded the time?” The guy’s voice is softer than what Stiles was expecting.

“It takes 20 minutes for me to walk to my dad’s house, I keep checking to see if I’m near yet.” Also because he wants to get the guy soaking like a dog kicked out of the house while it was raining away from his field of vision.

The guy doesn’t say anything. “Well?” Stiles prompts, shaking his umbrella and splattering rain water at the guy for emphasis. The guy aims his brooding towards Stiles, just a till of his head, in response.

“I don’t want a stranger knowing my address.” Stiles widens his eyes in shock, jaw dropping at the insult. The guy just implied Stiles was a stalker. Stiles Stilinski, son of the sheriff of the town this sorry son of a jackass drenched in rainwater is waddling through. Stiles Stilinski, son of Claudia Stilinski. Stiles Stilinski, the guy who was so sick of everyone right now that a green witch could come along riding a broomstick and turn him into a toad and he wouldn’t care, he’d jump around everywhere and not give a damn.

“Well in that case I’m so sorry I offered to share my umbrella because you and your creepy, pathetic, dripping form is such an eyesore.” Stiles spits out.

Stiles thinks he sees a flash of teeth from under the hoodie. In a better mood and Stiles would’ve cooed on seeing the guy’s buck teeth.

“Deal with it or choose another route.” The guy states.

“Okay, you’re welcome for me offering to share my umbrella.” Stiles grits out. Now he just feels like an idiot. Stiles tries to make a run for it but hisses, the skin pulling painfully at where the stitches had just recently healed over the stab wound. He clenches his eyes shut and grits his teeth, grimacing at the sting before starting to walk gradually.

“Are you okay?” Oh, the guy was talking civilly to him now? Fantastic.

“I don’t need your pity.” Stiles breathes out, not aiming for the guy to hear. This guy deserves the silent treatment. It was a change for Stiles to finally strengthen his weakest technique.

Apparently the guy still hears him anyway because he grunts out, “I could say the same to you.”

“Okay, now you’re just messing with me.” Stiles mutters irritably.

“’Creepy, pathetic, dripping form’?” The guy recounts Stiles words.

Stiles turns too suddenly and clenches his teeth, schooling his face to look annoyed at the guy- annoyed at the guy, not pained and at the verge of tears due his low tolerance for pain. He thought they said it was healed- they even removed the bandage and everything.

“Dude, I offered to share my umbrella, you implied labeling me a stalker.” The hoodie casts a shadow all over the guy’s face, it annoyed Stiles. There was no way he could avoid the guy ever again next time if he wanted. Stiles could meet the guy somewhere around town and act normal, and the guy could be laughing his ass off afterwards at making a fool out of Stiles Stilinski.

Stiles wouldn’t be surprised, it seemed to be a theme with anyone he’s ever known. ‘This town is too dangerous, son.’ ‘Stiles, your father is just worried about you.’ ‘Stiles, I’m sorry man, but I kinda agree with your dad?’

The joke’s on Stiles. Stiles who doesn’t know a thing and didn’t get the chance to figure it out because his dad sent him away without a clue about what was happening in town. His dad knows, Melissa McCall knows, his best friend Scott knows, and the Hales know what’s going on town but Stiles doesn’t. It’s such a comedy, because why not, everyone needs a little of that on their lives don’t they? The joke’s on Stiles because no one trusts him enough to tell him what’s happening, not about the body in the woods, not about why Scott, Melissa and his dad were cozy with the Hales of all people all of a sudden.

Not even when he gets stabbed in his own room in New York ‘as a lesson to the sheriff of beacon hills, the McCalls and the Hales, kid, no hard feelings’. Not even when the sheriff, Scott and his wife Allison flies to New York and begs him to come back after 8 years all of a sudden instead of skypeing like everyday because apparently they’d realized he’d be safer with them around after all. Of course, no telling Stiles about what danger he was in because of something the people closest to him were mixed up in. He could understand being stabbed to hurt the sheriff and the McCalls, but the Hales? Really? Stiles doesn’t skype the Hales everyday -what was the guy stabbing him even thinking, even Allison had laughed at that with sheriff shaking his head saying the Hales care about anyone getting hurt because of them –Stiles didn’t miss the ‘probably’ the sheriff added with cough. Stiles would really love to blame the Hales, but he can’t do that, because Stiles doesn’t know anything, does he? It’s such a comedy.

A tremble running through his body wakes him out of his stupor. Stiles blinks around rapidly, and notices the hand on his shoulder when he feels it shaking him while he was walking and turns his eyes to the guy. He could make out a jaw under the hoodie, strong and covered in stubble. But that was it. “What?” Stiles asks in confusion.

The guy huffs. “You weren’t even listening to me, were you?”

“Uuuh….” Stiles pouts his lips, scrunching his nose up at the guy and blinking his eyes wide to bring his focus back to the guy.

The guy just stares at Stiles for a moment –at least that’s what it looks like, with his head turned towards Stiles - before he picks up his pace again, driving Stiles by the shoulder to match his pace and letting go when he does.

“I said, you’re a random guy offering to share your umbrella. You’ll know where I live if I let you accompany me.” The guy puts his excuse forth softly.

There with the not trusting again. No one trust Stiles. Stiles will ruin everything. Just tell Stiles what to do and put it in such a way that Stiles can’t refuse.

This guy was just taking things to a whole new level. What a paranoid recluse.

“Okay, you know what?” Stiles closes his eyes in frustration as he says it, spying the sheriff’s house in view when he squints it open. “Yes, I’m a random guy offering to share his umbrella, very suspicious; I understand where you’re coming from completely.” Stiles opens his eyes wider and turns to face the guy abruptly, the guy stopping with his face turned completely towards Stiles. “Not trustworthy at all. Don’t take any candy I offer. Just take the umbrella that I no longer need,” Stiles thrusts the umbrella at the guy, the guy catching it quickly to stop it falling, “and walk home _brooding_.” He breaks into a run, stubbornly ignoring the sting of the pull around the healed skin and doesn’t look around to see if the pathetic guy in the hoodie soaked in rainwater is using the umbrella when he reaches the porch and swings the door open with the key the sheriff gave him and slips inside to Melissa crowing in delight on seeing him and engulfing him in a hug.

Stiles hopes the guy catches a cold. 20 minutes of walking in the rain should be enough.


	2. Futile Chase (but you gave someone else a hell of a thrill)

~o~

“Kate Argent?” Scott repeats in confusion.

Stiles stops and turns around to shine the light onto Scott's face, causing him to raise his hands up letting out a scowl as he squinted his eyes in response to the brightness.

“Dude, Kate Argent!” Stiles says again with a wide sweep of his arm to try jog Scott’s memory.

Scott raises his hands up in a shrug; face scrunched up in irritation before he stalks towards where he last saw Stiles blindly and flaps his hands at him on coming in contact to get Stiles to direct the light away from him.

Stiles points his flashlight down and pokes Scott on his shoulders in response to which Scott blinks his eyes open.

“The Kate Argent who locked the whole Hale family in their house and set it on fire?” Stiles says urgently.

Scott widens his eyes on recalling.

“Oooooh, you mean that fire six years ago? The one where my boss called the fire department?”

Stiles nods and claps a hand on Scott’s shoulder, driving him to start walking with him as he directs his flashlight in front of them.

“Yep, that one. And seriously, who the hell lives in the middle of the woods? They’re bound to die of a wildfire one of these days anyways.” Stiles complains, leaves crunching under their feet and branches poking at them from all sides.

Scott bats a branch out of their way with a frown, saying, “I don’t know, man, they’re a really private bunch, maybe they don’t like people in general or something?”

Stiles snorts, tripping on a tree root and almost dragging both of them down, Scott rushing to wrap his arms around Stiles to pull him straight before Stiles can cause both of them to fall with the hand he had around Scott’s shoulder.

“Safety should come first. I mean, if your boss hadn’t been nearby they would all be a pile of ashes right now!” Stiles says heatedly, arms outstretched to maintain balance while he jumps over things to gain more ground.

Scott huffs a laugh from somewhere behind him, saying, “Dude you sound like you hero worship my boss.”

“Scott the guy saved 13 people.” Stiles tells him reverently. “The man is a hero.”

“I don’t think all the Hales were in the house.” Scott tells him. All of a sudden he knew details without Stiles having to nudge his memory.

“No, but with that huge a family I doubt the remaining ones would’ve sustained their sanity after the loss.” Stiles tells him without looking up from the ground, being wary of tripping.

Scott makes a noise of agreement. Right after that Stiles hears Scott say, “Stiles, can you aim your light to your left? I think I see something.”

Stiles obliges but then frowns. “I don’t see anything.”

Scott shuffles away, telling him, “Don’t move the light away!”

Stiles waits, pursing his lips and frowning on seeing Scott come back with a pile of some sort of dark material in his hand.

“What’s that?” Stiles asks.

Scott holds it up for both of them to see. “It’s a jacket.” Scott looks at Stiles and asks, “Should we keep it?”

Stiles gives him a look of disbelief in response to which Scott rolls his eyes in exasperation and says, “I meant hold onto it till we find the owner?”

Stiles flails his arms around. “Why bother, it’s their fault for leaving it!”

Scott shrugs, folding the jacket carefully and draping it over an arm.

Stiles tells him decisively, “I am not helping you find the owner,” before he flashes his light around them slowly to find a track for them to go through and almost falls over in his excitement when he sees something that definitely doesn’t look like part of the woods into the distance.

He rushes towards the shape, tripping multiple times and getting annoyed before breaking into a run and not stopping, letting the momentum carry him forward.

“Holy shi-“ Stiles scrambles to a stop and almost falls back in his haste to put distance between him and what was definitely the top half of a guy.

The guy Kate Argent announced to the Hales she had cut in half.

How did she even get into the town despite being wanted for arson?

What sort of psychopath even announces when they’ve killed someone?

……………Probably the ones confident enough to not get caught and thrown in jail.

Yeah, maybe two lanky and extremely defenseless teens walking around the parts of the woods the rest of the search party hadn’t reached yet wasn’t such a good idea.

Stiles tears his eyes from the guy’s still lifeless ones and turns around, his heart beating double time in panic when he sees no one behind him.

“Scott?” Stiles calls, jogging away from the body and into the direction he’d run from.

“Scott!” Stiles tries again, raising the flashlight above his head and bringing the area around him into focus, groaning in irritation when the trees block the light from reaching beyond them.

“Scott!” Stiles shouts louder. “Dude, where the hell are you?” The part of the body hadn’t even been that far.

“Shit.” Stiles runs in the direction he’d arrived from, calling Scott’s name but getting nothing in response.

It’s like Scott never even came into the woods with him in the first place.

Stiles steadies himself by planting a hand on the surface of a tree trunk. For a moment he wonders if Scott left without informing him. He was pretty insistent despite Scott’s protests of wanting to sleep in early for school tomorrow. It was too dark to figure out the right way out, Scott might end up getting lost. Stiles stalks forward calling Scott’s name, hoping he changed his mind and decided to wait for someone from the search party or Stiles to find him eventually instead of treading deeper into the preserve. He’d call Scott but he wasn’t even sure Scott had his cell phone on him. Stiles feels a little at fault for just running off solo towards half a body instead of dragging Scott along to ensure they don’t get separated.

Stiles stops when he slips from something getting under his feet catching him off guard and flashes his light over it reflexively for it to turn out to be Scott’s inhaler. Stiles stares at it for a moment, feeling dread well up inside him before aiming the light around in search and filling his lungs till they felt like bursting before letting the his breath out in yelling Scott’s name so loud his throat hurt.

His breath stutters in hope when he sees something illuminated from his light, and then he makes a fist and whines in frustration when he dashes towards it only to realize it’s just the jacket Scott had picked up.

He still trails closer to it anyway and searches around, finding absolutely nothing but dirt, leaves, trees, and darkness.

“Scott?” Stiles tries again.

Nothing.

Of course Scott can’t response if he’s chocking from lack of breath.

Stiles scrambles in search of his cell phone and drops the flashlight with a ruined sound, almost tearing his pockets off in his roughness as he yanks his cell phone out and scrambles to turn it on and bring out Scott’s contact, feeling infuriated at himself for waiting so long to call him, swiping his shaking fingers across the screen and bringing it up to his ear, bending down to pick up his flashlight.

He twists around and breaks into a run when he hears Scott’s cell phone ringing and skids to a halt near the light from the phone at his feet.

Scott isn’t there.

His cell phone is there, though –along with what looks like pieces of his hoodie and t-shirt in shreds. The hoodie is red but the t-shirt isn’t. And the pieces of the t-shirt are soaked red in places.

Stiles brings his dad’s contact details up, chest constricting in panic.

“Oh come on!” Of course the line was busy- there was a search out for a murderer and another for half a body in the woods going on.

Stiles tries again and holds his cell phone against his ear, searching around the area carefully, going as far as to direct the light above him towards the branches in case –just in case.

After the fourth try, he can hear dogs barking and see spots of light approaching from where the other searchers had reached this part of the woods.

Stiles glances to see the shadows of people and light and the dogs getting more integrated in one area- the area where the other half of the body was.

He looks away and keeps treading around, shedding light on the area all around him as he makes a slow trail. There wasn’t much point now anyway, was there? It’s been too long –Scott wouldn’t survive not breathing for so long.

There’s no point.

The sheriff receives on the sixth try.

“Stiles-“

“Dad, I can’t find Scott, we went into the woods and got separated-“

“Wait, wait, slow down –you did what?”

Stiles makes a dying sound at the back of his throat.

“Dad he doesn’t have a flashlight and I found his inhaler and –and there’s pieces of his clothes that look like someone shredded them lying around covered in blood but I can’t find him.”

“Okay-son, do you have any idea which part of the woods you are in?”

“It’s not far from the top half of the body.”

“The b-okay, now listen, did you bring your jeep?”

“Yeah.”

“Go back to it and drive straight home-“

“But dad-“

“-I have deputies near that area, they’re going to search for Scott-“

“Da-“

“Drive home, right now. There’s a manhunt going on-“

“Wait, you mean no one’s found her yet?”

“Stiles! Use a well lit road, don’t stop, just drive straight home, do you understand me?”

“I-yeah-“

“Don’t make me send out a search party for you too, because I’m heading home right now and if I don’t see you there in an hour-“

“Dad, I’m going, okay?”

Stiles hadn’t noticed them as his focus was trained on his dad’s words but the sound of a dog barking brings his notice to the Deputies and volunteers that were near his area now. He points his flashlight around the ground till he finds the place with the fabric lying and the nearest Deputy with a dog heads towards it.

“Stiles?”

“I’m going, I’m going.”

It takes a while to find the jeep. Stiles doesn’t bother hurrying. He shines his flashlight all around him on the way to it.

He doesn’t think about much on the way home. Just ‘I’m the one that took Scott to the woods’ on repeat.

He pulls over into the driveway, notes Melissa’s car there and parks his jeep beside it before quickly getting out and rushing to the front door ignoring the dark haired guy with blue eyes lingering outside, finding it open and running into the living room where he stops in shock, barely registering anyone else and feels a hysterical laugh bubble out of him in relief on seeing Scott.

Scott looks up at him with an uncertain smile.

“Dude where the hell were you –don’t ever do that again!”

Scott gives Stiles a sheepish smile before saying, “Sorry, man.”

Stiles gapes at the lack of grasp on the situation before saying incredulously, “’Sorry’?” He huffs in disbelief before looking at Scott and telling him, “Scott I found your inhaler, cell phone and bits of clothes covered in blood. What the hell do you think someone supposes happened to their best friend from that, huh?” His voice broke a little at the end and Scott just stared at him in amazement before his face screws up to make him look contrite before he was rushing towards Stiles in a flash and engulfing him in a bone crushing hug.

“Omph-“ Stiles’ eyes widen in surprise before he brings his arms up to wrap around Scott.

Okay, wow, Stiles couldn’t breathe, Scott wasn’t kidding when he said he was training for lacrosse.

Okay, his ribs were actually hurting a little now, ow.

And then there was an authoritative voice calmly saying, “Scott, I think you should give him a little space to breathe” and Scott was suddenly backing away with his eyes wide with regret.

Stiles lets his arms fall to his side and tears his eyes away from Scott to take in his father looking a little pale with what looked like a piece of paper in his hands and Melissa looking extremely stressed sitting with Talia Hale of all people.

“Hey, dad.” Stiles says, the sheriff looks up to give him a strained smile in return, face still drained of color.

Stiles eyes all three of them carefully, Talia Hale giving him a small polite smile, sitting straight and commanding like she owned the place, before he looks at Scott again, asking, “Dude, what happened to you? Why aren’t you at the hospital?” as Stiles gestures at the new shirt Scott was wearing.

Stiles catches the fleeting glance Scott gives to Talia Hale of all people, Talia Hale looking at him with her face schooled into something serene, before Scott sighs and gives Stiles an apologetic smile, saying, “I’m fine, no need to worry about it –I accidentally killed a squirrel that got stuck on my shirt.”

Stiles huffs, saying, “How come I didn’t hear you scream then?”

Scott snaps a hand up to cup his neck, giving Stiles an unreadable look as he turns his eyes to the side without moving his head. Stiles keeps his eyes on Scott who was now giving him a pleading look instead of following his gaze.

Yeah, this was the first time they were attempting to communicate via telepathy.

Then Talia Hale was saying, “Stiles, why don’t you go freshen up?” and that was really grating on his nerves because this wasn’t her house and she wasn’t Stiles’ guardian and his dad was the only one that got to suggest things like that while making them sound like orders.

Stiles just eyes her incredulously, saying, “Sure. Scott, come on, man” as he slings an arm over Scott’s shoulder and proceeds to tow him in the direction of the stairs so that they can communicate via something besides telepathy out of hearing range of the three in the living room.

“Scott, sit down.” Scott stops and Stiles almost falls backwards when his legs keep advancing forward and doesn’t stop with Scott. He turns and sees Scott looking at Stiles with apology before wrapping a gentle hand around Stiles’ wrist and removing the arm from his shoulders, telling him, “I’ll talk to you later, okay?” before backing away and walking back into the living room.

Stiles was getting really confused and increasingly irritated at the influence Talia Hale of all people seemed to have over Scott right now.

He throws his hands up with a grumble and turns to stomp his way upstairs.

~o~

Stiles doesn’t get to talk to Scott later.

He talks to Scott days later from New York.

Scott doesn’t tell him anything else about what happened in the woods. Apparently the letter the sheriff received the day they found the body in the woods was a threat demanding the sheriff leave the Hales’ side and join theirs or Stiles will pay or something. Scott doesn’t tell him anything else about that either.

Talia Hale’s daughter, someone named Laura Hale, drives Stiles all the way to New York. He decides he hates road trips.

He doesn’t get what the big deal with the threat is. Beacon Hills was a relatively safe town and he lives with the sheriff.

Well, ‘used to live’ now.

~o~

Scott looks horrified all of a sudden. He snaps his head towards the window before turning to Stiles and telling him in a rush, “Stiles, don’t say anything, okay?”

Stiles stills in worry, saying, “Why?”

Scott gives him a beseeching look, saying, “Don’t make any noise, please!” before folding his laptop close.

Stiles stays quiet, hearing noises of crashing and some shouting followed by silence and someone muttering something in a quiet steady voice, saying things Stiles can’t make out.

Then a man with blue eyes and dark hair Stiles remembers from outside his house the night he got shipped off out of Beacon Hills pulls Scott’s laptop open and stares at Stiles with a sharp smile, saying pleasantly, “Hello. You must be Stiles.”

“And you must be the guy that just broke into Scott’s room.” Stiles tells him as he takes a screenshot of the guy.

The guy just smirks as Stiles.

Stiles hear Scott shouting, “Stiles! Don’t tell-” The guy looks down with a sneer and Stiles hears sounds of kicking and Scott groaning in pain.

“What the hell are you doing?” Stiles yells, not able to do anything but just stare. “What do you think is going to happen when the police hear about an adult breaking into a 16 year’s room and kicking the crap out of him, huh?” 

The guy gives him a scrutinizing stare before saying, “I’m not sure. We’ll see when I meet your dad for dinner at the Hale’s tomorrow.”

Stiles glares at the guy, feeling sick to his stomach.

The guy just smirks at him and looks down at Scott saying, “That’s a nice friend you have there.”

Stiles hears Scott grit out, “He doesn’t know anything.”

The guy makes a face full of pleasant surprise, saying, “That’s good!” before he tilts his head with an unflinching stare and says, “I’m sincerely sorry for interrupting your call session. Terrible things can happen when teenagers are left unsupervised, I hope you understand that.”

There’s the sound of a snarl and then Scott saying, “I didn’t-“ before he’s cut off by another kick from the man. Stiles feels his heart beating double time and throat closing in panic when he doesn’t hear any sounds coming from the ground. The guy says conversationally, “Maybe you should have logged out.”

He then turns to give Stiles a smile, saying, “Don’t stay up late, it’s bad for your well being.” before leaving out Scott’s window of all things.

Stiles waits with bated breath for a while after he leaves before saying, his voice quivering, “Scott?”

“I’m fine. Just –just give me a minute.” Stiles waits, one leg rattling and the back of a hand pressed to his mouth as he hears sounds of some groaning and shuffling before Scott heaves himself up and appears in Stiles’ view, sitting heavily on his chair with a grimace.

“Dude, do you need to go to the hospital?” Stiles asks.

Scott shakes his head, looking up at Stiles and saying, “No, I’m fine –he didn’t kick that hard, just hard enough to hurt.”

Stiles digs his nails into his lips, asking, “Do the Hales have my dad in their payroll?”

Scott widens his eyes, shaking his head frantically saying, “No, Stiles, I swear to God no.”

Stiles swallows and then asks shakily, “So they don’t even need to pay him? He’s just helping them –just like that?”

“Stiles, it’s not like what you’re thinking okay? There’s nothing illegal going on, it’s not like that-“

“Then what the hell is it?” Stiles demands.

Scott shifts in his seat, looking at Stiles apologetically, saying, “Stiles, I’m sorry, I can’t –”

Stiles cuts their session off, logging out and putting his headphones on, blasting up some music with a lot of beats and logs into his game to raid a cave or something all alone if none of his usual pals are online.

He turns the volume up higher to drown out the sound of his cell phone ringing.

 

~o~

Scott stares at Stiles hopefully, letting out a quiet, “Hey.”

Stiles nods at him, arms folded across his chest as he leans back to rest against his chair, saying, “How’s school?”

Scott swallows, saying, “It’s fine.”

Stiles nods, legs jiggling as he stares at them.

Eventually Scott asks timidly, “How’s school for you?”

Stiles shrugs as he says, “It’s okay. Luckily I’m not lagging behind or anything. I’m just hoping no one notices me enough to turn me into a punch bag, that’s my greatest fear so far.”

Scott makes a wounded sound.

~o~

“Dude, the park is like filled with geese. I’m scared every time I pass by the pond because they freaking flap their wings and charge at me, like what do I look like, like I’m carrying bread?”

Scott laughs with his whole body shaking, saying, “Maybe they just want your love.”

“Yeah well I don’t take well to that much aggression.”

~o~

“Cora Hale is like everywhere. I have to hide in an empty classroom to eat lunch in peace.” Scott grumbles, twisting a hand in his hair.

Stiles flails his arms around in excitement.

“Dude, are you kidding me? Who the hell cares about the Hales when you made first line in lacrosse!”

Scott’s lips twitch into a smile at that and his eyes light up a little.

“Jackson was so pissed I thought for a while he was going to best the crap out of me right there in front of the whole team.”

~o~

“Oh my God- Kate Argent’s niece? Scott, are you insane?” Stiles shouts, leaning closer with his eyes widened, hands gripping the edge of the desk hard.

“She’s not like her aunt.” Scott grumbles, grabbing at his hair, head bowed.

“And you know her so well after two days of dating.” Stiles says sardonically.

Scott exhales heavily, shoulders heaving and eyes shadowed by the hand. “She didn’t know her aunt was a killer.” He says evenly.

“I’m surprised people tell the truth these days.” Stiles deadpans.

Scott lets out a growl. “She’s not lying.”

“Well, you’re not exactly a lie detector, no offense to your people skills.” Stiles says spreading a hand out before dropping his head on it with sigh.

“Scott, you don’t know anything about her, okay? You made first line in lacrosse; there’ll be lots of girls lining up for you.” Stiles tries.

“I don’t want anyone else.” Scott says through clenched teeth, his voice rasping.

“You’re not even giving anyone else a chance! Just because she was nice to you on her first day of school doesn’t mean she’s completely harmless.” Stiles says in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air at how irrational Scott was being.

“Yeah, well, what would you know anything about girls with your experience.” Scott spits out venomously.

Ouch. 

“Okay, I’m letting that go on account of it being the cold hard truth. Allison Argent is Kate Argent’s niece and they were close –that is also a cold hard truth, in case you’re living in denial.” Stiles tells him vigorously.

Scott whips his head up all of a sudden with a snarl, eyes wild and unrecognizable.

“Why are you trying to ruin this for me?” He bellows at Stiles.

Stiles leans back instinctively. “Scott –“

Scott lets out a scream- face contorted to something inhumane and raw, and swipes his arm across the screen in a flash, his room tilting before stilling with a crash and going blank.

Stiles stares at the screen in shock, mind grappling to gain an understanding; anything that fit the violence to Scott’s criteria.

“Scott?” Stiles asks vacantly, staring at the icon of the video call ending.

~o~

“He broke his laptop?” Sheriff Stilinski says incredulously.

“Yes, dad!” Stiles says urgently. “He freaking threw the laptop with a swing of an arm so hard that I won’t be surprised if it broke.” Stiles says flailing his arm around to imitate the gesture and almost twisting it out of its socket.

“Huh” He says blankly.

Stiles gapes, dissatisfied at the lack of reaction he was getting.

After a pause the sheriff inquires, “Are you sure he didn’t hit the laptop in his enthusiasm or something?”

“Enthu- okay, you know what, never mind.” Stiles groans, dropping his head on his hands.

He hears the sheriff say, “Alright, I’ll check in on the McCalls during petrol.”

~o~

Stiles shoves the books and notes spread out all over his bed around, crawling over to the sound of his ring tone from where it was going off and twisting his cell phone out of the jeans he’d worn today.

He doesn’t hesitate to receive the call the second he sees the name flashing in place of the caller id.

“Scott?”

“Stiles.” Scott sounds frantic. “I’m sorry for yesterday, I’m so sorry –“

Stiles wasn’t sure what do to with that.

“Is your laptop okay?”

“No, it’s broken……mom was so mad.” Scott lets out faintly.

Stiles sits down on the bed with his legs crossed, picking at a lose thread on his pajama pants.

“So, are you getting a new one soon?”

“Yeah…” Scott trails off before Stiles hears the sound of a restrained cry of frustration.

“The Hales…they won’t let me date Allison.”

“……Okay, how did they find out? Oh wait, Cora Hale goes to school with you.”

“I……they said I can’t play first line in lacrosse.”

“Wait, what? Why the hell are they bossing you around about that?”

“I can’t –I can’t –apparently I have to go training with them every night or I can’t play lacrosse at all.”

“Training for what, lacrosse? They can’t do that, what about your school work? Didn’t your mom say anything?”

“It doesn’t matter what mom says.” Scott lets out brokenly, “It doesn’t matter what I say, they don’t care about me having to repeat a year or two, they don’t listen to anyone, they don’t……they don-“

“Scott? Scott! Oh my God, Scott, what’s happening?”

“I ca- I –I –breathe, I c-“

“Your inhaler! Scott!”

He hears the sound of things hitting each other and then everything goes quiet except for Scott’s heavy breathing.

“Scott? Scott, are you okay? Scott!”

“I’m okay, I’m okay……”

~o~

“Stiles, don’t mind me asking, but I kinda never see this uncle of yours?” Scott asks sounding apologetic all of a sudden.

Stiles looks up from his homework to see Scott scratching at his temple with his pen.

“I mean, he’s nice and we get along, but most of his work is at night shift so we never really get to talk much. So far I’m just glad he doesn’t boss me around and leaves me to do my own stuff.” Stiles says after pursing his lips as he runs a hand over his head.

Scott looks concerned all of a sudden. “Like…he doesn’t check up on you? At all?”

Stiles rushes to reassure him. “He kept an eye on me for the first week or so, but he let me be after realizing how independent I am. He’s like a roommate that’s never around.” Stiles says before giving it some thought and adding, “Well, a roommate that pays for all my stuff for me from the money dad sends him, but he’s cool.”

Scott lets out a laugh before frowning and asking after a while, “Does he ever bring girls around?”

Stiles stops gnawing at the pen. “Dude, he’s gay. I asked him if he doesn’t bring anyone around on my account but he says that his boyfriend understands. And he does bring his boyfriend around, just on mornings when I’m at school.”

Scott frowns. “Doesn’t his boyfriend have a job?”

“He does, he’s a photographer. Barry gave me all his books because he had extra copies–dude seemed pretty proud of his boyfriend; they’ve been going steady since high school.” Stiles tells him.

“That long?” Scott asks looking surprised.

“Don’t give up hope on the world yet man, love does indeed actually last –don’t give me that look, I’m not lying.” Stiles tells him while stretching his arms behind him.

Scott snickers. “I know you’re not.”

~o~

“Oh shit.” Stiles lets out as he takes in Scott with his hair mused up and the girl in the background sitting on his bed trying to casually fix her hair.

“Uh…” Stiles stares at Scott and the girl. He just interrupted a make out session, worse timing ever.

“Stiles!” Scott exclaims with way too much cheerfulness.

“I could come back later.” Stiles offers.

“No, man, it’s fine!” Scott says before turning to the girl and telling her, “Allison, this is Stiles, my best friend that I told you about?”

The girl, Allison, makes a face of surprise upon recognition and comes closer to bring her face in level with Stiles before waving at him with a smile, dimples showing.

“Stiles, this is Allison.”

“I’m his girlfriend.” Allison says pointing at Scott.

“Trust me, I know. I swear to God, sometimes he calls me up in the middle of the night just to spout terrible poetry about you. The only reason you never hear them is because I shut the ideas down pronto.” Scott looks at Stiles in horror. Allison just laughs with a blush coloring her face and places a fond kiss on Scott’s cheek, Scott giving her a goofy smile at that, Allison smiling at Scott in return before looking at Stiles, her eyes sparkling, and letting out a laugh with Stiles.

~o~

“Yo, dad.” Stiles says casually.

“Heard you made the track team.” The sheriff says in greeting with a huge smile.

“Oh my God, did Barry actually call to tell you that?” Stiles exclaims, extremely put out on missing out the chance to break the news. Well, it can be salvaged.

Stilinski laughs and says cheerfully, “Yep, he also told me you’d be running next week.”

Nothing to salvage.

“Oh my God! I am never telling him a thing ever again.”

“He said he’d video it for me.”

“Nooo” Stiles groans in embarrassment, thinking about being on video.

They fall into silence.

“Also it’s uncle Barry. Uncle.” Stilinski points out.

“Actually he was the one that asked me to stop calling him uncle; it reminds him he’s old.” Stiles says.

“He’s just 31!”

“He tells everyone he’s 28.”

Sheriff Stilinski frowns and then looks up with his face in surprise.

“Work?” Stiles asks.

“Ah, no, just- just Melissa.” Stilinski grimaces at Stiles, his eyes conflicted before raising a hand gesturing Stiles to wait and then looking up and smiling again.

He gets up suddenly and goes out of view, Stiles hearing Melissa’s voice and a few laughs and what sounds suspiciously like flirtatious tones of voices.

There’s a sound of a door swinging close and then it’s quiet again, before Stilinski comes into view again with a Tupperware filled with sandwiches in his hand, sitting down with a sigh.

Stiles flails his hands around. “Oh my God, are you dating Melissa?” He demands.

Stilinski whips his head up with shock in his eyes. “What?” He exclaims in a shrill voice, waving a hand at Stiles in dismissal with an over exaggerated scoff.

“Dad, it’s not like I’m mad at you or anything, but –since when?” He asks.

“Son, we’re not dating.” He presses in exasperation, sighing.

“She brought your lunch to work.” Stiles points out.

Stilinski makes a face. “She was just being thoughtful.” He says sounding a little put out.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure you’re in her thoughts a lot.” Stiles says lightly.

Stilinski gives him a flat look.

“I heard flirting. You’re both single. So go ahead and mingle.”

Stilinski rubs at his forehead muttering “Oh God” with his face red and a grimace.

~o~

“Stiles, my mom is going out on a date!” Scott exclaims the minute Stiles accepts his call for a video chat, eyes frantic in panic.

Stiles almost spills his dinner all over his laptop. He swallows it forcefully before saying, “Wait, what?”

Scott shrieks, “With your dad!”

Stiles’ jaw drops open. “Oh my God already? It’s just been a few hours!”

Scott stops at that. “ _What_?”

~o~

“Oh my God, you can’t do that.” Stiles whines.

Allison just laughs at that, taking another sip from the mug of hot chocolate she’d brought upstairs with her. Stiles was so jealous- and from gleam in Allison’s eyes she knew it full well. Stiles narrows his eyes at her with a pout, Allison spitting the hot chocolate out at the face Stiles was making, the drink staining her lavender sweater.

Stiles points at her and laughs with no bounds, Allison glaring at him as she pulls the shirt away from her to stop the liquid from sipping through the layer.

Eventually she gives up and lets the shirt go to lean back on her chair, spinning slowly from side to side as she takes another pointed sip, this time smiling in glee when she manages to swallow it without reacting to the faces Stiles was making at her.

“I’m still doing it.” She sing songs.

“Yes, I can see that.” Stiles grumbles as he proceeds to take a long sip from his cartoon of milk.

Just milk.

No chocolate.

Stiles is so getting back at Allison for that.

“So…….” Allison prompts with an anxious look on her face.

Stiles breaks off the sip and gulps before asking. “What?”

Allison rolls her eyes before asking tentatively, “Did you get any position?”

“I got second.” Stiles grumbles, ducking his head.

Allison gapes at him. “Stiles, second out of how many people?”

“I wasn’t even supposed to run for my school, it was kind of a last minute decision because the senior was busy with his studies and didn’t want to –“

“Stiles!” Allison interrupts him with an exasperated laugh, shaking her head fondly at Stiles and giving him a knowing look, Stiles pushing his bottom lip out and tugging his mouth down at the corners to maybe get attention away from his cheeks that were heating up.

“Okay, so I’ve never won a thing in my life and when I do it’s second place.” Stiles says as he reaches down to open the drawer and bring out the medal and hold it up close to the camera for Allison to see.

Allison lets out a cheer. “Congratulations!”

Stiles lets out an involuntary laugh. “Thanks.” He says tucking his lips inwards to prevent the smile from turning huge enough to make him look like a lunatic.

“What did your coach says? Is he letting you take part in anything else?” Allison asks.

“Actually, yeah.” Stiles says, leaning against the arm folded on the desk and gesturing with the other hand. “He was over the moon when he found out my grades were perfect.”

Allison snorts at that, saying, “Now he just has to train you properly instead of leaving you with a few pointers.”

“Yeah, it helped that I end up running every evening to get some energy out of my system anyway –I’d love to give myself the whole credit.”

Allison grins at him, hands under her chin. “You do get the whole credit.” She says before asking him, “Will practice take up a lot of your time?”

Stiles leans his face on his hand. “No, actually, it’s just early in the mornings and an hour after school, so it shouldn’t affect anything.”

Allison nods her head in understanding before leaning back against her seat and folding her arms across her chest before asking casually, “Do you always stay home after school?” 

“I don’t hang out with anyone after school if that’s what you’re trying to ask -ten out of ten for subtlety.”

Allison rolls her eyes at him. She sits up straight when someone opens the door without a warning, exclaiming an accusing, “Dad!”

Allison’s dad puts a packet of chocolate biscuits on her desk, blue eyes staring at Stiles piercingly, Allison frowning up at her dad in irritation.

Stiles lets out a polite, “Hi, mister Argent,” in response to which Argent gives him a smile and a nod before glancing at Allison and leaving without a word.

~o~

Stiles goes stock still. In place of Allison, there was a woman sitting there with short spiky red hair and cold steel grey eyes, staring at Stiles.

“You’re not Allison Argent.” Stiles says steadily, willing himself to not drop his eyes and bolt at the look the woman was leveling him with.

She smiles at Stiles frostily, eyes unblinking. “I’m Allison’s mother. She’ll be home in a minute. Now, you’re going to do as I say……”

~o~

Stiles’ heart almost leaps out of his chest when he sees the contact request named ‘Lydia Martin’. He stares at it for a while before frowning in confusion and adding her, surprised at getting a call immediately.

He accepts and then gapes at the person, exclaiming, “Allison?!”

Allison gives Stiles a relieved smile with Lydia observing the two curiously from where she was sitting on her bed in the background, head tilted and an arm wrapped around her waist with the other twisting a lock of strawberry blonde hair around her index finger.

“Stiles!” Allison says gladly.

Stiles shifts his focus back at Allison and starts, “Allison, I’m so sorry, I sent another request but I think your account got deleted –“

“My mom deleted it and cut off my internet connection.” Allison says stiffly. “I’m to use my dad’s laptop for homework.” She looks at Stiles with her nose flaring.

“Why?” Stiles asks, throwing his hands up with his face twisted in confusion.

“They won’t tell me.” Allison says while staring at a space at the bottom of the screen, a bitter smile on her face.

Lydia narrows her eyes at the two of them.

“Is it because of me?” Stiles asks with a frown.

Allison looks at Stiles with her eyes shining and anger etched all over her face.

“They’re not telling me anything.” Allison says after a while with her voice shaking.

“First they tell me to steer clear of the Hales. Then they tell me to stop dating Scott,” Allison spits out, tears running down her face, “they won’t tell me about Kate, they won’t tell me why I’m not allowed to talk to you because you’re sheriff Stilinski’s son -because he’s familiar with the Hales –“

“I don’t even know anything!” Stiles shouts out angrily. Allison closes her eyes and raising a hand to cover her mouth, body quaking and more tears spilling out of the corners of her eyes.

Stiles drops his head on a hand as he lets his eyes slip shut, scraping his nails against the short hair as he rubs another trembling hand over his face, feeling his eyes burning behind their lids.

~o~

“Wait, you’re still dating Allison then?” Stiles asks before frowning and then demanding, “You can’t talk to her at school, isn’t Cora Hale going to notice?”

Scott heaves a sigh, saying, “She does. We don’t talk at school. Before she used to come over to my house since my mom stood her ground and made the house off limits for the Hales.”

Stiles narrows his eyes at him before his eyes widen and he jerks his arms around frantically. “Oh my God, Scott, are you sneaking into her room?”

Scott looks defensive, asking, “Why would you think that?”

Stiles plants his hands on the desk, saying, “Because Allison is grounded and her parents are having her followed wherever she goes!”

Scott looks at him in surprise, demanding, “How do you know that?”

“She uses Lydia’s account to talk to me. And seriously, the Hales or the Argents haven’t caught you even once?”

Scott nods his head and then frowns, saying tentatively, “It’s kind of weird, I’m waiting for one of the Hales to catch me one day.” Scott looks at Stiles, saying, “It’s kind of inevitable, I guess.”

Stiles leans back on his seat, propping his leg up on his desk, saying, stretching his arms above his head, saying, “Maybe they already know and decided to let it go this time.”

Scott looks confused, saying, “Why would they let it go?”

Stiles shrugs, saying, “Allison doesn’t know anything yet, her parents just told her to stay away from the Hales, McCalls and the Stilinskis. So maybe the Hales aren’t worried about her.”

Scott runs scratches at a spot behind his ear, saying, “That’s true, her family didn’t tell her anything.”

“Yeah, but Allison said her whole family was in on it. She thinks they’re waiting for her to turn 18 or something before telling her.”

Scott ducks his head, saying, “That makes sense.”

Stiles looks at his nails muttering, “Sure it does.”

~o~

“Come on, let’s see them!”

Stiles brings the medals out one by one and holds them up for Allison –and Lydia, who wasn’t doing a good job of acting like she wasn’t listening to them – and lets her count them.

Allison looks at him with the hugest smile and laughs, literally jumping in excitement on Stiles’ behalf and Stiles can’t hold back the laughter bursting out of his mouth.

~o~

“All ready?” Stiles asks before spooning some more mashed potato into his mouth.

Scott lets out a sigh and looks down at the suit he was wearing before looking at Stiles and loosening his tie, saying, “Yeah, I-I think so. Do I look okay?”

Stiles waves a hand around, telling him for what felt like the thousandth time tonight, “Scott, you look fantastic, okay? You have a date with Allison, you’re not failing any classes,” Scott huffs at that, looking down at his suit awkwardly, “And you’re the co-captain of the lacrosse team!” Scott’s lips twitch into a smile at that.

“Plus the Hales are finally going easy on you.” Stiles tells him with intent to assure. Stiles presumes the Hales were worried about Scott maintaining their trust initially.

Scott nods before looking down at his suit, running a hand down over it even though it was already straightened and ironed thoroughly by Melissa.

~o~

Allison runs in the direction of what Stiles assumes is Lydia’s bathroom.

Stiles stares at her, heaving a breath and rubbing at his eyes.

He whips his head up to the sound of someone sitting but deflates when he sees it’s Lydia, surprised that she didn’t follow Allison to check up on her.

He asks, “Aren’t you going to talk to her?”

Lydia says, “I will later. She’s staying over.”

After that they fall into silence before Allison comes back sniffing and sits down on Lydia’s bed, still in her prom dress.

Lydia gets up and rummages around in her closet, taking out a pair of pajamas and a t-shirt, pushing them in Allison’s hands and waiting. Allison looks up at Lydia after a while, staring at her before nodding and wiping a hand across her cheek and getting up to go to the bathroom and change.

Lydia sits down on the bed with a sigh and shares a look with Stiles.

After a while Stiles asks her hopefully, “Okay, so, did you see anything?” Scott wasn’t taking any of his calls. Melissa had said he didn’t come home.

Lydia leans back with her hands planted on the bed, saying, “No, actually. The both of them disappeared for a while. Then only Allison came back in crying and asked if she could stay over at my house. When we went out mister Argent was there trying to coax Allison to go home. She just shouted at him saying something along the lines of ‘I hate you all so much, how could you do that, he’s innocent, you don’t have any proof’ with missus Argent looking furious and demanding Allison come home and that what matters is that he is one of them. Basically a whole lot of things none which made any sense.”

Stiles sighs, letting his head fall back, saying, “yeah” in agreement.

~o~

“So, Allison knows what you and the Hales are involved in and she’s okay with it?” Stiles asks to make sure he got it straight.

Scott nods his head frantically, saying, “Yeah.”

Stiles waves a hand, asking skeptically, “And her parents are completely fine with it?”

Scott grimaces, saying, “No, actually. They kind of threatened to kill me?”

Stiles almost slips out of his seat, flailing around before saying, “Wait, what?”

“But the Hales threatened to retaliate? And the Hales can’t hurt Allison because the Argents will retaliate and because Allison said she loves me and follows –and because she said she can think for herself and isn’t confused now that her dad explained everything? Her dad is kind of nicer than the rest?”

Stiles blinks, saying, “So the Hales are still okay with you dating Allison?”

Scott pauses in thought before saying, “Yeah? I think they’re hoping Allison will warn us all if the Argents plan something against them since she loves me and cares about me?”

Stiles throws his hands up in the air. He could write a whole book on that and become filthy rich.

~o~

“Roll up your sleeves.”

Stiles blinks slowly, saying, “What?”

Lydia rolls her eyes impatiently before demanding, “Roll up the sleeves of that disgusting plaid you’re wearing up to your elbow. Never wear orange.”

“But it’s the color of-

“ _Don’t_ even think about cutting your hair.” 

She tilts her eyes and narrows them, pursing her lips with a calculating look on her face before saying, “Get them cut over the ears. Better yet, next time you go to get a hair cut call me and give the phone to the barber.”

~o~

There’s a young Deputy Stiles doesn’t recognize –new then-with green eyes and neatly combed light brown hair and behind him what looks like the interior of the rest of the station outside the sheriff’s office.

“Hi Stiles- I’m Deputy Parrish.” He tells Stiles with a smile.

“Uh……and this isn’t your account.” Stiles tells him uncertainly, narrowing his eyes.

Parrish huffs a laugh and says, “It’s not. The sheriff is out with the Deputies carrying out negotiations in a hostage situation.” He informs Stiles. “Sheriff Stilinski gave me his laptop to inform you when you call.”

“Oh, okay……” Stiles frowns. “Who’s the hostage?”

Parrish looks at him steadily and says, “It’s a high school student named Lydia Martin. The sheriff said you knew her?”

Stiles feels like he can’t breathe.

“I……yeah, yeah, I do.”

“She went missing this morning on her way to school. Her car was found abandoned on the side of the road.”

“That’s – wait, are you sure you’re supposed to be telling me that?” Stiles asks in confusion.

Parrish smiles at him, telling him, “The sheriff said to inform you in case you found out she was missing.”

“Okay, so- is he holding her for ransom?” Stiles asks.

Parrish shakes his head and then frowns. “No actually. He wouldn’t let her go, says he was dying and needs her.”

~o~

“Okay, okay……uhh…….:” Scott has a concentrated look on his face. It made him look hilariously constipated, besides making him look like he was about to start crying his eyes out.

“Okay, stop before you hurt yourself.” Stiles tells him pityingly. At least he tried. Well, sort of.

Scott lets out a strangled groan. “No, I can explain this.” Scott still has the constipated look on his face before his face lights up in surprise with him letting out an ‘oooh’.

“I figured it out!” Scott looks so excited it was infectious.

“Alright, give it your best shot.” Stiles encourages him with a wave of his hand.

“Okay, so- it’s like I’ve been promoted and now I have the same rank as Talia Hale.” Scott tells Stiles.

“So the Hales promoted you?” Stiles asks in confusion.

“No! I did it myself, I mean –no one had to promote me, it happened because of my own capability.” Scott says.

Stiles pauses. “Scott you get promoted when someone promotes you.”

Scott groans and drops his head on his arms in defeat.

“Okay, okay, so…what does this mean?” Stiles asks.

Scott looks up, putting his chin on his arm and pursing his lips before saying with a smirk. “It means that the Hales are no longer the boss of me.” He grins before his face falls and he visibly slumps in defeat with a groan.

“You don’t look happy enough with that news.” Stiles comments.

“That’s because the Hales are still far more powerful than me.” Scott says with a grumble.

Stiles just makes a face at that and grabs the packet of chips again, stuffing some in his mouth.

“They have more people.” Scott continues.

Stiles swallows and says, “Then recruit people if you want.”

Scott looks frustrated. “I don’t want to bring people into this.”

“Then just get people already in it to join you.” Stiles says.

Scott looks surprised. “That…that could work.”

He grins at Stiles and states, “I think I know a few people that might wanna leave the Hales and join me.” Stiles gives him a thumbs up, never mind that Stiles has no idea who Scott is talking about.

After a while Stiles looks up from his packet to ask, “Are the Hales going do anything to you if they find out you tell me all this stuff?”

Scott shrugs, saying, “You’re my friend. I’m sharing my life with you. It’s not like I’m telling you what we’re involved in.”

Stiles nods, putting a few more chips in his mouth to buy time and compose himself before swallowing and asking offhandedly, “Do you ever blame me for taking you into the woods and getting you involved in all this?”

Scott looks thoughtful before saying, “No. Oh! And Lydia says she’s okay but she needs some time before she’s ready to talk to Allison or me after tonight.”

Stiles frowns, asking anxiously, “Why?”

Scott ducks his head and says evenly, “Her kidnapper told her about the Hales and Argents.”

“Oh.”

~o~

Stiles fumes at Isaac and grits out the minute Allison leaves to follow Scott and aid in choosing snacks, “Dude, if you come between Scott and Allison I swear to –“

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Isaac hisses back hysterically.

Stiles flaps his arms around. “Then stop staring at her like that!” He exclaims.

Isaac glares at Stiles. “She’s hot.” He says defensively.

“So will you be when Scott roasts you alive.” Stiles tells him before sticking the straw in his mouth and hollowing his cheeks to draw in more of his chocolate milkshake.

~o~

“Lydia!” Stiles says in greeting, letting out the breath he was holding in a heavy exhale when he’s connected, a little surprised.

She smirks at him, looking perfectly put together besides the thick white bandage taped on the left side of her forehead near the hairline. Her hair had small braids starting at her temple included in the ponytail that was curled at the end pulled forward to rest over one of her shoulders.

“You’ve probably been asked this by everyone you came across so bear with me –are you okay?” Stiles asks.

“I’m fine.”

Stiles nods slowly, saying, “Okay, that’s good!” He drums his fingers against the desk and asks hopefully, “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

Lydia hums, tapping a finger on her chin in an image of being in thought before looking at him and stating, “I will if you tell me how you got a black eye.”

Stiles tries narrowing his eyes at her. She raises her eyebrows at him, saying, “Well?”

Stiles sighs before bringing his hands up, saying, “Okay, so, I kissed a girl and her boyfriend punched me in return.”

Lydia stares at him before sniping, “What were you thinking, kissing her in the first place?”

Stiles throws his hands up in the air. “I didn’t know they were together! She had a fight with her boyfriend and kissed me in front of him to get back at him.” He grumbles. He lurches up suddenly before telling Lydia frantically, “Don’t tell Scott or Allison I told you! They’ll get pissed you got it out of me so easily.”

Lydia shakes her head with an eye roll before looking at him, saying, “I got kidnapped by a psychopath and had to listen to him going on about how his life wasn’t fair before he finally died.”

Stiles blinks. “That’s it?” He blurts out and then cringes, flailing his arms to think of something to take it back. Sheriff Stilinski had said Lydia told the police she didn’t remember much of the whole ordeal due to the head injury. To be honest he was expecting something worse – to hear that it wasn’t even close to what his imagination had conjured up was a relief.

Lydia gives him a withering look. “Yep.” She says, popping the ‘p’. “That’s it.”

“That’s a relief.” Lydia gives him a look of disbelief. “I mean –I thought up some terrible stuff, so it’s a relief that he just talked.” He rushes to rectify before frowning and asking her warily, “He did just talk, right? He didn’t touch you or anything?”

Lydia shrugs. “He hit me a few times when I won’t help.” She deadpans.

Stiles grimaces, leaning back against his seat.

Stiles frowns. “How did he die?”

Lydia crosses her arms, glancing at the ground before looking up at Stiles and saying, “It’s all a blur, with my head injury and all.”

Stiles stares at her before nodding slowly, looking down at his hands clasped together.

“Anyway, the reason why I mainly called when I’m supposed to be resting–I need your help.” Stiles looks up at her in confusion.

Lydia specifies, “I have a math test tomorrow. I don’t want to miss it, I need your help with going through some of the stuff I missed, it’s easier that way. Are you free?”

Stiles nods. “Yeah totally. Show me what you missed. Did you get the notes from someone at least?”

Lydia moves her laptop from her desk to her bed, disappearing before reappearing in Stiles’ view with books and notebooks, dropping them on her bed and climbing into the bed.

“I did. In return, I’ll help you with chemistry.”

Stiles halts. “Wait what?”

“I heard from Allison your final grade was a ‘B’ last year so you won’t stop rambling about the teacher.”

“That’s because he’s worse than Harris!”

“Are you sure he doesn’t hate you because of your grade?”

“He’s the only one that’s hated me since the beginning! All the other teachers don’t have a problem with me –my history teacher called me the best student she’s ever had!”

Lydia gives him a dreary look before snapping, “That’s because you never get anything below ‘A’ in History.”

~o~

“I swear to God, I am going to haunt your asses forever.” Stiles grumbles, chewing on his pen and glaring at his homework.

He glances up to see Isaac asking Lydia of all people, “Can he do that?” with Lydia giving him a flat look and snapping, “Really, Isaac?”

Stiles doesn’t ask anything and just looks back at his homework, feeling a pang in his heart at the sound of Scott, Allison, Erica, and Boyd laughing on getting the joke.

~o~

Stiles, Scott and Isaac stare with their jaws dropped when Erica plops down on Boyd’s lap and proceeds to try to lick at his tonsils the minute she arrives.

“You sure love to make a show of publicizing things.” Stiles comments as Boyd smiles at Erica fondly, the most expressive Stiles has seen him, and Erica laughs at Stiles. Isaac congratulates them with a smirk. 

Scott was still staring at them with his jaw dropped.

~o~

Stiles shows Scott the medal with a dramatic flourish of his hands.

Scott squints at it before his jaw drops and then his mouth curls up into a wide open mouthed smile, eyes wide open in shock. “Dude, you finally came in first!”

“I know, right?! Like I’m just going to savor this because I really doubt I’ll ever run that fast- because dude there was a guy beside and his face scared the crap out of me and I just bolted when the whistle blew I swear to God he looked like he wanted to maul my face off.”

~o~

“Scott already picked Allison up.” Lydia tells him when Stiles is connected.

“Aw, okay.” Then Stiles frowns and asks her, “Aren’t you going to the formal?”

Lydia tells him innocently, “My head hurts. Besides,” she shrugs, “I already went last year. I can just go next year.”

“If it’s any consolation, I would’ve taken you as my date if I were there.”

Lydia’s lips twitch into a smile as she looks down at her nails.

“And Jackson’s a jackass.” Stiles says.

Lydia huffs a laugh and looks up at him with her smile.

~o~

Isaac takes one look at Stiles after walking into Scott’s room and then blinks rapidly before squinting.

“I’m pretty sure that tub of ice-cream was full when I left.”

Stiles grunts before stabbing into the ice cream and scooping some up before stuffing it in his mouth and slumping lower in his seat. He could see the bottom of the container now.

Scott twists to look at Isaac and tells him in a loud whisper, “Stiles got dumped.”

Isaac reels back. “He had a girlfriend?”

Scott nods, saying, “He thought he was in love.”

“I am still in love.” Stiles grumbles before spooning the last of the ice cream into his mouth.

Scott rolls his eyes. “No you’re not.”

Stiles glares at him, hugging the empty container to his chest. Scott huffs. “Okay, fine, you were definitely a little in love. But she wasn’t worth it if she dumps you for not bringing her over even after you told her that you didn’t want to take advantage of your uncle’s hospitality.”

Stiles makes a sound of protest. “Scott, she thought I didn’t care about her, you didn’t see how much she cried.”

“She was too preoccupied with her insecurities and completely brushed all your problems aside.” Scott counters.

Stiles puts the spoon in his mouth with a scowl at Scott’s surprisingly believable take on the situation, sliding down his seat till only his head was available for Scott and Isaac to see. He wonders if Allison told him to say that.

Isaac says, “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”

Scott turns to look at Isaac again to tell him, “You two aren’t that good friends.”

Isaac looks a little irritated.

~o~

“Scott, is Jackson really dead? What the hell happened?”

“Stiles, I-I don’t know -I’m not sure, he –I’m calling you back, okay?”

~o~

“Are you kidding me? The Hales took Jackson in?” Stiles makes a pained face and repeats, “Jackson? Really?”

Scott nods his head looking furious, saying, “They think I’m trying to conspire with the Argents against them. They’re trying to increase their numbers. He’s always wanted in.”

Stiles flails his arms around, telling Scott vehemently, “Then tell them you’re not picking a fight!” Stiles makes a face and scoffs, repeating, “Jackson? _Really?_ ”

Scott snorts, shaking his head, saying with a smirk, “I know, right?”

“So he’s not actually dead?”

Scott pauses before shaking his head, giving Stiles a small smile and saying, “False alarm.”

~o~

Stiles just stares at the screen.

Scott calls his name again, waving his arms around to get Stiles’ attention.

Stiles points at Jackson sitting on the edge of Scott’s bed and demands, “What the _hell_?”

Isaac stops glaring at Jackson long enough to snort and share a look with Stiles.

Scott gives Stiles a nervous smile and says, “Jackson doesn’t like the Hales and joined me too?”

Stiles gapes at him, waving a hand slowly to gesture for him to continue.

“The Hales won’t admit they were worried about me teaming up with the Argents against them?”

Stiles waves the hand around more frantically when Scott stops.

“The Hales and we have an alliance now? We meet every month for meetings and dinners?”

Stiles pinches the bridge of his nose with a groan.

The book, if he chooses to write it, will make him rich enough to buy him a country.

~o~

“I don’t even know if he’s going to dump me when he feels like it again!” Lydia yells.

Stiles quips, “I’d say leave him for good but I have a feeling my suggestion is going to fall on deaf ears.”

Erica snorts at that, Lydia fuming at her and Stiles.

“You still didn’t say if you’re forgiving him.” Erica points out.

Lydia sits down on her bed with her arms crossed and looking furious at the world in general.

“Well, he does love you- at least you know that for sure.” Allison says to placate her.

“You know, they’re like that couple that keep breaking up and getting back together.”

Lydia glares at Stiles.

~o~

“No.” Stiles whines sorrowfully.

Harley raises a brow, popping the stick of licorice out of her mouth and telling him, “I can be a doctor if I want to.”

Stiles waves his arms around in distress and says, “But why –why doctor of all things, with all the blood and bones and flesh-“

Harley rolls her eyes at him.

“-and not to mention all the gross bodily fluids of various colors –and don’t even get me started on the outgrowths those are like so gross I think I’m going to throw my dinner up right now.”

“You don’t worry about me and just go ahead and be an architect. My business will be booming when your building topples over.”

Stiles gasps and clutches his chest at the insult.

~o~

“Okay, this is okay, right, do I look okay?” Stiles asks fiddling with navy blue tie.

Scott tells him, “Stiles, stop moving so much, for the last time, you look great, your dad said you look great-“

“Scott, every loving parent tells their kid that they look great-“

“-My mom said you look great-“

“Your mom is too nice-“

“-Allison, Lydia, Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Harley –and yes, I know you asked her too, she called to say you were freaking out–said you look great,-“

“-No one wants to hurt my feelings-“

“I’m saying you look great. I, Scott McCall, your best friend, the guy that would never let you embarrass yourself in senior prom by sparing your feelings to tell you that you look great when you don’t.  So trust me when I tell you that you look great. Now just get out right now before your date freaks thinking you’ve bailed on her!”

~o~

Erica makes an appreciative noise at the back of her throat on seeing the pictures saying, “Not bad, you look like you could be hiding a bat mobile in your garage.”

Isaac frowns in confusion, saying, “What does that mean?” Erica rolls her eyes and Boyd tells him, “She means Stiles looks good enough to pass off as a Bruce Wayne.”

“Who’s the girl?” Scott asks curiously.

Stiles says clicking through the prom pictures on facebook, “That’s Amber, she’s part of the swim team.”

Erica goes “Ooooh” on seeing something and Boyd smirks at Stiles before Scott sends him a link to the picture someone took of Stiles and Amber making out-

“Oh my God, what is that doing on the internet? Oh my God oh my God oh my God!” Stiles shrieks in panic, flailing his arms around.

Suddenly Scott asks, “Wait –did you loose your v-card last night then?”

Stiles feels his face heating up and just gapes at Scott, unable to answer.

Scott widens his eyes and shouts out excitedly, “You did!”

Stiles smacks his face with his hands, saying, “Sure, why don’t you just go ahead and tell the whole town.”

Isaac mutters, “I really didn’t need to know that” while Erica laughs.

~o~

“Dude I think one of the Hales is about to creep up on you.” Stiles comments as he squints at the shape of a guy that looks like he’s dressed in a leather jacket and jeans, most of his body shadowed by the low lighting in Scott’s room.

Scott goes stock still, lips puckered and eyes wide with his can of soda hovering near his lips from where he was about to take a sip. Stiles snorts at the picture that provides before stuffing some curly fries in his mouth. Scott squints at the screen instead of turning back and then throws his hands up in the air.

“Are you kidding me?”

The figure in the background crosses his arms. Apparently the guy wasn’t kidding.

Scott grumbles and crosses his arms as well, glaring at Stiles.

Stiles stuffs his mouth full of curly fries and chews on them slowly, frowning and throwing his hands up in a shrug when Scott keeps glaring at him.

The figure in the background leans back against the wall, Stiles making out the guy to have tufts of spiked hair.

Scott keeps staring resolutely at Stiles.

Stiles blinks before his eyes widen and he flails his arms around in excitement. “Hey, Scott, I thought your mom banned the Hales from entering your house?!”

Scott looks at Stiles with astonishment with a huge smile taking over his face before he turns around to face the guy and tells him, “He’s telling the truth.” After a pause Scott says, “No, it really is! They told you to come get me, but you’re seriously supposed to ring the doorbell and wait for my mom to get it.”

Stiles adds helpfully, not able to help the resentment slipping into his voice, “Yeah, it happened after Peter Hale broke into Scott’s room to kick the crap out of him last year.”

Scott glances at Stiles, his eyes twinkling in delight before turning to the guy again and telling him with amusement apparent in his voice, “Yep. Stiles even has a screenshot of him in my room.”

“It was a mugshot in case he turned out to be a pedo like I suspected.” Stiles says in defense.

The guy’s shoulders quiver as he shakes his head, doubling over looking like as if he’s joined in with Scott laughing before he’s leaping out the window in a flash- Stiles soon realizing the absence of another voice laughing in complement to Scott after he leaves.

“Okay, which Hale was that?” Stiles asks, leaning forward on his elbows and stretching out his body back behind him after Scott’s laughter fades into giggles.

“Talia’s son, he got back from college this year, I think.”

“Is he stuck up like the rest of them?”

Scott snorts, shaking his head and saying grouchily as they hear the doorbell ring downstairs, “Dude, he’s like the baby of the family, they didn’t give him a single thing to do the last we worked together.”

“Okay, now that’s just plain unfair.”

Scott huffs. “I know, right? The guy just does whatever he wants all alone and he’s not even the youngest, I don’t get it at all.”

~o~

Stiles leans back and waves an arm around the dorm room to display it before sitting in front of his laptop again, saying, “My room mate hasn’t arrived yet –for which, I’m kind of glad because I get to choose which side I get.”

Scott laughs, Isaac lounging on his bed lazily texting on his cell phone, saying,

“They’re the same.”

“No they’re not Isaac.”

~o~

“Okay, so, how’s the training? And be honest.” Stiles tells Allison.

Allison heaves a sigh, pouting a little before looking up at him with a smile, tucking a stray stand of hair behind her ear, and saying, “I kind of hate being bossed around?”

Stiles nods in understanding- so much understanding, asking, “Okay, so do you see Boyd around?”

Allison nods. “Yeah. He breezed through everything physical.” She tells him.

“Allison Argent, is that jealousy I hear?”

Allison huffs a laugh, saying a defensive, “shut up!”

~o~

“This doesn’t even make any sense!” Stiles whines, pointing his hands towards the words he wrote in the screen.

Lydia glares up at him, a hand twisted in her hair tied up in a messy bun.

“My eyes hurt.” Stiles whines.

“Ugh! Focus Stiles! We swore we’d get our assignments done. Now keep working.” She snaps at him as she clicks around.

Jackson comes into the screen with an apple, taking a bite before saying with a smirk, “What’s up, testicle?”

Lydia lets out a scream of frustration before Stiles can say anything and spins around to snap at Jackson, “Jackson, get out of my room and don’t come in till morning.”

Stiles rubs at his eyes, saying, “You’re sounding pretty optimistic if you think we’ll get our stuff done completely tonight.”

“We will.”

 

~o~

“What happened to your face?” Boyd asks with a frown in greeting.

Allison looks at him critically and says accusingly with her eyebrows raised, “That doesn’t look like someone kissed you too hard.”

Stiles licks his split lip delicately and makes a face at the sting, saying, “That’s because it’s not.”

Josh butts in vibrating with excitement and says conspiringly, “Oh that wasn’t from a kiss- that was from his boyfriend.” 

Allison’s jaw drops and Boyd asks Josh in disbelief, “His boyfriend?”

“ _Ex-boyfriend_.” Stiles corrects them all with a pointed look.

“So you dumped him after he punched you, right?” Allison asks abruptly with a expectant look.

Stiles huffs with a flap of his arms. “No, He punched me after I dumped him.”

Boyd looks at Josh and raises his eyebrows. 

Josh tells them, “Okay, so, we were all hanging out in the café across from campus and then Stiles’ boyfriend starts making fun of you guys saying how Stiles should spend more time with him and how weird it is that Stiles seems extremely attached to you all when you're not even here–a load of bullshit if you ask me, personally I think you guys are awesome,” Josh sounds wistful when he says, “It’s like you guys are an awesome personal diary except you actually talk back.”

Stiles stares at Josh. “Uhh…”

Allison hides a smile behind her hand and Boyd eyes Josh warily.

Josh keeps going. “So, anyways, he won’t stop saying how weird it was and everything that Stiles likes the laptop more than he likes him and everyone in the table had gone completely quiet and then Stiles just dumps him right there in front of everyone and proceeds to eat and his boyfriend thinks he’s kidding at first but Stiles tells him he wasn’t kidding at all, so he asks Stiles if they can talk all alone and they go outside, right? So we’re all watching and then he gets all up in Stiles’ personal space and Stiles pushes him back and then he punches Stiles right in the face!”

Allison cringes at the last part and Boyd screws his face up to something that looks like a mixture of pain, anger and annoyance.

“And then guess what Stiles does.” Josh asks, dark hair bouncing in excitement and dimples showing on his round cheeks.

“I’m hoping he punched him back in return.” Allison says.

“Guess again.” Josh prompts them.

Boyd has a pained look on his face as he asks, “He didn’t start crying, did he?”

Stiles gapes at Boyd and flips him off. Boyd says defensively, “Well you didn’t punch him back.”

“That’s because Stiles broke his arm clean in half.” Josh tells them breathlessly in awe.

Allison laughs in satisfaction while Boyd smirks looking extremely pleased at that and gives Stiles an internet high five.

~o~

“Your grandfather is dead?” Stiles burst out making sure he heard it right.

Allison nods with her lips pressed into a thin line.

Stiles’ elbow slips from where it was resting on his desk. He scrambles to straighten himself before asking, “Are you okay?”

Allison snorts, peeking up at him and saying, “I really don’t know anything right now.”

~o~ 

“Don’t you look absolutely _vital_?” Stiles says with glee.

Harley gives Stiles a dull look, dark circles under her bloodshot eyes and a coffee mug in her hand, hair tied up in a messy ponytail. She takes a pointed sip of her coffee and gives him a malicious smile.

“So!” Stiles puts his chin on his hands, asking with a joyful smile, “How’s the life of a med suiting you? Mixed up doses yet? Prescribed the wrong meds? Slipped on pus?” Stiles snickers before continuing, “Gave parents the wrong babies and provided inspiration for a soap opera? Had a one night stand at a bar with a dreamy guy just for him to turn out to be your teacher? Emphasis on ‘dreamy’.”

Harley just gives him a lifeless look and says monotonously, “Your hard work to keep my business blooming brings tears to my eyes.”

~o~

“You’re seriously asking Allison to marry you?” Stiles gapes at Scott.

Scott heaves a breath, nodding and looking at Stiles fretfully, waving his hands around in agitation, saying, “I mean, I love her, man. I’ve been thinking a lot about it. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” He looks at Stiles unsurely and says, “Do you think it’s a bad idea?” 

Stiles jumps to reassure him, “No, no, not at all! Dude, both of you stuck together for five years through all that’s been thrown at you, I think you two of all people deserve to spend the rest of your lives together, so go ahead!” Scott takes in a deep breath and nods. Stiles rushes to add, “But don’t get upset if she refuses or asks you to wait, okay?” Scott looks horrified, “Because maybe she wants to get her career set before marriage, she seems pretty serious about it. And you’re still young.” Scott visibly relaxes, nodding in understanding.

Stiles taps his fingers against his lips, raising his eyebrows with a restrained smile and asking, “Can I see the ring?”

~o~

“She said no.” Scott tells Stiles sullenly in greeting. Stiles lets out a grimace. He’s not sure if he should reassure Scott or ask him why.

He doesn’t have to continue when Scott keeps going. “Her family might cut her off if she becomes Allison McCall.”

“That’s a little extreme, isn’t it?” Stiles asks in a hushed whisper, looking around to make sure he wasn’t disturbing anyone in the library with his phone call.

Scott lets out a sigh. “I don’t want her to have to leave her family for me. Or leave me for her family.”

Stiles nods in understanding before remembering that Scott can’t see him. “Yeah. So…what now?”

“I don’t know, I guess.” Scott says sounding unsure.

Stiles frowns as a thought hits him. “So it’s fine if she stays Allison Argent?”

“………What?”

Stiles gestures with his hand even though obviously Scott can’t see him. Well no one’s paying attention to him so it doesn’t matter what he does. “Dude, you can just go to a church and get married without getting registered if you don’t mind it not being official.”

“I don’t mind.” Scott blurts out.

“Great!” Stiles waves a hand around in a ‘there you go’ gesture.

“I’m getting married.” Scott lets out in awe.

“Yes you are.” Stiles says with a triumphed fist pump. A shadow falls over him and he looks up to see the librarian glaring at him.

Stiles packs his things with a sigh and carries them out of the library with him as he talks with Scott the whole way. The librarian watches him leave with narrowed eyes.

Yeah, he’s not a face she’s going to forget.

~o~

“Okay, so, Barry and Thomas are out in a trip.” Stiles tells his dad as he rummages around his bag looking for where he kept his extra cash besides his wallet.

“So you’re all alone?” Stiles looks up at the alarmed tone. He rolls his eyes and says, “Dad, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m 23. Besides, his boyfriend’s moved in with him, I’m looking for an apartment.” Sheriff Stilinski scratches at his cheek with a grimace, saying, “Don’t get one alone, okay?”

Stiles tugs out the money and counts it, saying, “I’m hoping to get an apartment with one of the other interns, in fact. Somewhere near the farm?” Stiles looks up at his dad with his lips tucked in.

“Good luck getting one, Scott told me it’ll be hard with the area it’s in?” Melissa comments.

Stiles sighs and throws his hands up in the air, saying, “Yeah, well, he’s not wrong. I’m lucky I even got an internship there, this is going to be _awesome_.”

Sheriff Stilinski makes a noise of protest at the back of his throat, Melissa giving Stiles a look of disapproval and saying, “Luck doesn’t cut it, and you worked hard for it so you deserve it.”

~o~ 

The guy twists the knife, Stiles screaming into the dark and scrambling to gain a purchase to get him off, his hands shaking and weak, fingers not working the way he wants them to.

His assailant looks down at him, tipping Stiles’ face up with both hands to say, “Look at me.” He leans closer and starts, “Tell Talia Hale –“ Stiles twists his torso slightly, swallowing a scream with his eyes burning and chest heaving in short pants at the pain blooming through him when the knife chaffs against his tissues, blood sipping through, Stiles staring at the guy’s laughably cliché black stocking mask in the faint light streaming through his window.

Stiles Stilinski wasn’t your fucking convenient message board for anyone.

~o~

“I really don’t get what the big deal is.” Stiles complains before stuffing another brownie into his mouth, taking his time to let the whole thing turn into a lump of chocolate gooeyness on his tongue while Melissa gives him a disapproving look and tells him, “It is a big deal.”

Stiles scoffs, taking another brownie in his hands and tearing it in two to check if there’s something inside. “That was like a decade ago. I just got stabbed for something I don’t even know. Well, I do know that the Hales are involved in it but that’s it, basically. You guys should really tell me what the Hales got you in for life.” He states before stuffing one half of the brownie into his mouth and giving Melissa a hopeful look.

Melissa raises a hand to ward him off, saying, “Oh no, I’m not sleeping in the bedroom all alone for providing you with that information.”

Stiles makes a face of disbelief and spreads his hands out in appeal, asking incredulously, “Oh come on, I know there’s two sides and then groups within each side, what’s wrong with just telling me what the hell everyone thinks I’m involved in?”

“You’re not involved in this, which is why they’re at fault.” Melissa tells him and stares at him sternly when he’s about to start talking with the other half of the brownie in his mouth. Stiles throws his hands up in the air with a roll of his eyes and leans back heavily on his chair, crossing his arms and jiggling his legs as chews quickly.

Stiles swallows before leaning forwards to pick up another brownie and points out, “I don’t see any of them coming after you.”

“That’s because my son is involved and they wouldn’t dare start something.” Melissa tells him with a smile in response to which Stiles scowls, saying, “Well, my dad is involved with the Hales as well apparently.”

Melissa gives him a triumphant look, saying, “Which is why they want the sheriff on their side.”

Stiles opens his mouth multiple times before deflating and stuffing a whole brownie in his mouth, slowly slinking lower in his seat at the look Melissa gave to the crumbs falling off his mouth and on the table.

“Okay, fine. Why is there bloodshed going on, what the hell are the Hales involved in –I thought I’d notice if they were acting mafiaesque around town.”

Melissa gives him an amused look as she comments, “You don’t like the Hales much do you?”

“I hate the Hales.” Stiles announces with vigor. Melissa laughs at his blatant declaration when the sheriff walks in and crows in delight on seeing Stiles.

“Hello, dear father of mine!” Stiles exclaims as he rises up to take part in the hug his dad was clearly intent on giving him and had gone ahead to initiate before Stiles. Stiles just goes for it, ignoring any thoughts of awkwardness from the lack of physical contact for so long. He wonders if it’s a Stilinski approach, because his dad just dashes right into it and wraps Stiles up firmly in his arms and claps him on the back like they’ve been doing their whole life before they were too far out of reach. Stiles is shocked his dad remembers it. He huffs a joyful laugh as he wraps his arms more tightly around his dad and wonders if his dad thought about their first meeting in a really long time with both of them within physical reach while Stiles isn’t stuck in a hospital bed or unconscious before just settling on a hug like Stiles.

“Son, I’d love to say you’ve grown taller,” His dad starts with glee in his voice, “but –yeah, that’d be a lie.” Stiles looks at him with his jaw dropped in a gasp as the sheriff lets go of him to give him an affectionate look and Melissa laughs in the background. “That’s great dad, you……okay, yeah you basically look the same and I’m betting there’s something in these weird brownies.” Stiles says as he narrows his eyes watching his dad pick up a brownie and take a bite, the other arm still wrapped around Stiles.

He doesn’t eat another one. Stiles stares. “Okay, dad, there’s like a ton of brownies here with a weird irresistible flavor besides chocolate I can’t peg down and you’re just taking one?” Stilinski shrugs with a shifty look. Stiles eyeballs him. “Oh my God, there was more and you ate them, didn’t you?!” The sheriff gives him an appeasing smile and a pat on the back. Stiles looks at Melissa and points at his dad in question.

“It’s Mrs.Harlowe’s recipe.” Melissa tells him with a smile. “She says they’re actually low fat and Rebecca loves them.”

Stiles snorts. “Brownies can’t be low fat.”

The sheriff pipes up, “Here’s proof that they can.”

Melissa drones, “Yes, because you can eat them then.”

The sheriff makes a noise of half-hearted protest before pushing Stiles to sit and taking a seat himself. Then he turns to Stiles and asks, “You sure you’re okay with staying at Scott’s? You’re old room’s still there.”

Stiles scoffs. “Dad, I’m 24, I’m not living in my parent and his girlfriend’s house.”

Melissa points out, “You’re living at Scott’s house.”

“Yeah, but Scott is 24 too so it doesn’t count.” The sheriff and Melissa exchange a look of worry for some reason.

“What?” Stiles asks cautiously.

His dad waves a hand in dismissal. “Nah, it’s nothing. Just think about it.”

Stiles shrugs. “Okay.”

~o~

Stiles wishes he had popcorn.

He still makes the best of the situation from the passenger seat anyway as he takes in his dad playing intimidating sheriff without even getting out of the cruiser. He wasn’t even wearing sunglasses or placing a hand on his hip to bring attention to his gun. He was just sitting there in the driver seat of the cruiser with the window rolled down, giving the pair from the car beside them a calm look as they stand outside shivering in rain trying vainly to explain that no it wasn’t their fault miss Martin’s car has a bump to the side now- the sort of look that made you quiver in fear because you can’t turn the situation to fit your benefit when dealing with someone in this much control, it just doesn’t happen.

This is why the drama in Beacon Hills is always better, because Stiles Stilinski is the son of sheriff Stilinski, the best sheriff in the world.

And no, he wasn’t being biased just because it’s his dad, ask the rest of the people in town- except for anyone with charges pressed against them.

~o~

“Boyd!” Stiles was aiming to maybe make Boyd spill his coffee by entering silently behind his dad and tip toeing up to Boyd since he had his back to Stiles- Boyd just spins around in his chair and takes a pointed sip with a smirk aimed at Stiles. All he needed was a cat on his lap and ‘I’ve been expecting you’ coming out of his mouth. Stiles visibly deflates in disappointment before Allison comes along and wraps her arms around his waist laughing in delight, the sheriff waving a hand at them all before heading for his office.

“Allison, you’d spill your coffee if I ever snuck up on you, right?” Stiles asks her in search of reassurance as he wraps his arms around her shoulders.

“Of course I would.” Allison tells him soothingly before leaning back to give him a good look of the blinding smile on her face, Stiles making out the details of her eyes for the first time and feeling a little overwhelmed, and saying casually, “And then I’d make you scrub the stain off.”

“It’d match your uniform.” Stiles points out as he takes a step back and takes in Allison dressed in a Deputy’s outfit. “Okay, this is definitely the first time I’m seeing you in your uniform and you look like the poster girl for recruiting more cops.” Allison bursts out laughing and Boyd stands up and gives him an actual high five and- Yeah, Stiles is really glad he’s not on Boyd’s bad side; he’s more impressive up close. It’s like Scott’s group was basically a gathering of all the ridiculously attractive people in town. If he didn’t know the two of them already he’d definitely be making a fool out of himself hitting on them right about now.

Stiles takes a look around the station. There’s a lot of faces he doesn’t recognize –and a lot he does- like that green eyed Deputy giving him a smile as he carries some files into the sheriff’s office.

“Missed the place?” Stiles looks at Boyd. He shrugs, Allison giving him a squeeze with the arm wrapped around his waist. “A little. There’s a few Deputies I re- Tara!” Stiles exclaims on seeing the familiar face, feeling a little unsure when the woman eyes him warily but then relaxing visibly when a smile starts on her face as she recognizes him and makes her way towards him. Boyd claps him on the shoulder and goes back to his work filing reports and stuff while Allison gives him another hug around the waist and goes out on petrol.

“Look at you, all grown up!” Tara says in greeting.

Stiles gives her a flat look, “Oh please, everyone keeps telling me I look the same.” Stiles takes a good look at her. “You look the same, you even look like you got more beautiful.” Tara laughs, patting him on the cheek. Stiles follows Tara as she roams around the station trading files. “You did grow.” She insists before pausing and giving Stiles a critical look and amending her opinion. “At least your hair grew.”

Stiles pulls the corners of his mouth down in disappointment. Tara grins at him.

Stiles tries his best to look casual as he takes a look around the station- and yeah, he wasn’t going to get that here with everyone looking at him at least once, some with curiosity, some with enthusiastic greeting smiles, some with little nods of acknowledgements and some with a little pity at the sheriff’s son that came back to his home town for a vacation after being stabbed.

Stiles looks at Tara and starts conversationally, “So, Tara! Who are the biggest family in town currently?” He bites his lips and pleads with his eyes, hands held together under his chin. Tara hums with a thoughtful look on her face before saying, “The Hales.” She gives him a look of astonishment. “They have sixteen family members.” Stiles gapes. “six-oh wow, that’s a lot.”

“Biggest family in town.” Tara points out with a little awe.

“Do they still live in the same house?” Stiles asks.

“Yep.”

Stiles twists around to see the green eyed Deputy- Deputy Parrish smiling at him. “Oh –hey! Good to see you in person.” Stiles offers cheerfully. Parrish laughs at that, offering him a hand to shake. “You too.”

“Also the sheriff told me to inform you.” Stiles tilts his head and gives Parrish an expectant look when Parrish pauses. He gives Stiles an extremely delighted smile as he says, “You won’t find anything on anyone here.”

Stiles blinks in surprise. “Uh……I actually hadn’t thought of checking here.”

Parrish looks at him suspiciously. Stiles shrugs, fiddling with his hands as he says in an affronted manner, “I’m not kidding!” Honestly, can’t a guy just visit his dad and friends’ workplace just to meet them- and yeah maybe poke around a little bit since he’s here already and they’re all busy with their shifts anyways?

Stiles jumps when a pair of arms wrap around his chest from behind, a voice sounding extremely familiar cooing, “Long time no see, batman” near his ears. Stiles twists his head to the side with a laugh, seeing Erica giving him a roguish smile, blonde hair falling in waves over her shoulders and her lipstick a striking red.

“Hey- since when do you wear glasses?” Stiles asks as Erica puts her chin on her shoulders, warm body pressing up against Stiles from behind.

“Since I’m required to look the part.”

She lets go of Stiles when he moves to wrap an arm around her waist and give her a hug, muttering, “If you were my hot teacher in high school I’m pretty sure I’d have to resort to copying Scott’s notes from how distracted I’d get.” Erica laughs in delight as she places hands on his shoulders and leans back to get a good look at Stiles, Stiles getting a good look at Erica in return.

He wasn’t sure who he should envy more, Boyd for dating Erica or Erica for dating Boyd.

“How was the flight?” Erica trains her eyes on the left side of his upper abdomen, tracing fingers through his clothes over the area that Scott no doubt told them about.

Much better than road trips, that’s how the flight was. “It was nice actually. Scott hated it. He tried to sleep through the whole trip.” And kept muttering childishly that the place reeks even though Stiles thought it smelled perfectly fine and nice even from the orange flavored air freshener. Scott kept grumbling about how much he hates oranges and their weird orange color.

“What are you doing here?” Stiles asks.

Erica shrugs. “I came to drop off lunch for Boyd. Then I noticed someone wearing plaid and just had to investigate.” She tells him with a smirk.

Stiles nods. “Okay. Are you leaving right now?”

Erica looks confused. “Yes.”

Stiles gives another huge nod. He drums his hands against his thighs. “I was wondering if you could drop me off at Scott’s. I haven’t unpacked yet and made the stupidest decision of giving my umbrella to a guy that looked like a little like someone on the run.” Erica giggles, linking their arms and as they bid Boyd and the sheriff farewell for now before leaving.

~o~

Stiles pulls the curtains aside to take a look to confirm his suspicion that yes, it was still raining, and no, the insistent sound of the water droplets hitting everything wasn’t his imagination.

“Dude is it normal to rain this much? We’re not going to be flooded, are we?” Stiles asks with poorly hidden concern. He hates swimming.

Scott sighs, staring forlornly out the window before going back to looking for his toothbrush. He still has hope that he had indeed packed it. It’s just a toothbrush; he’d have to get a new one eventually, not like toothbrushes can have sentimental values. Technically probably anything can but a toothbrush is weird. Leave it to Scott to make a toothbrush seem as important as a photo with the film lost.

“We’re not going to be flooded. It’ll stop. It has to.” Scott insists. Stiles narrows his eyes at the sky.

Stiles hears the sound of Scott’s ring tone and then Scott talking to Allison in a murmur.

What if the shady guy he gave his umbrella to just runs off with it and never gives it back? Fuck, he hadn’t thought it through, he’d been so upset at the accusation he’d just forced it on the guy with ‘here, look at me, I’m not looking where you’re going, who’s the stalker now, eh?’ implied somewhere along there.

Stiles smacks his forehead lightly against the wall. He should probably check Scott’s list of members registered at his gym and see if he can recognize the guy.

Scott makes a sort of whiny noise that makes Stiles twist around to look at him. “What?”

“The Hales are holding a gathering tonight.” Scott says with a whine.

Stiles waves his hands around in a question. “So?”

Scott throws himself dramatically on to the couch in the living room. “It means I have to be there.”

Stiles lets out a sigh. He waves a hand around to gesture at all their stuff in the living room. “Shouldn’t we move all this to the rooms upstairs?” Scott nods as he pushes himself up.

“So, what’s this going to be, like a top secret meeting at their basement or something?” Stiles asks as he piles up the things he’s decided to throw away.

Scott huffs a laugh. “No dude, it’s more like this whole family dinner thing in a restaurant. All the Hales are going to be there. On the bright side-“ Scott zips his suitcase up and glances up at Stiles with a look of excitement. “-The restaurant they’re going to has this amazing shrimp thingy. The Hales are paying for everything so I’ll get dinner for you from there.”

Stiles squints his eyes in thought. “All the Hales are going to be there?” He asks Scott carefully.

Scott frowns in confusion and then nods. “Yeah.”

“Why? Some of them have kids from what I saw on facebook.” Stiles remarks.

“It’s more like a dinner to pretend that we’re getting along.” Scott explains.

“Okay, so- all the Hales are going to be there? Every single one of them?” Stiles emphasizes in search of confirmation as he follows Scott up the stairs.

“Yes.” Scott confirms with an eye roll.

All the Hales were going to be there.

As in the Hale house is going to be empty.

So empty with so many trees around that no one’s going to notice a burglar breaking in.

Not that anyone would dare breaking into the Hale house, those guys are like pretty prestigious and well known and have a Peter Hale and a Talia Hale that no one would probably want to mess with.

No one would dare breaking in so much and the Hales probably wouldn’t look for signs of anyone breaking in if their security alarm doesn’t go off.

Assuming they even have security alarms, that is. They’re probably so sure of themselves that they don’t have any security measures taken to begin with.

Scott waves a hand in front of Stiles’ face.

Scott stumbles back when Stiles throws his hands up in the air.

“Free food!” Stiles exclaims in excitement.

~o~

“Stiles?” Scott says when he picks up the phone.

“Heeyy Scott, buddy, best friend, bro.” Stiles says in greeting.

“Hey! Dude, is something wrong?” Scott asks with a hint of worry in his voice.

“Oh no, not really.” Stiles says with a grimace as he stands at the side of the road and stares at the preserve that should lead him to the Hale house.

“’Not really?’” Scott repeats with worry.

“Yeah, Scott, I’m really sorry to put this on you man, but, I’m kind of about to break into the Hale house to snoop around and see if I can find anything to make sense of things –for myself, and I need you to call me the moment the Hales are about to leave so that I can get the hell out of there.” Stiles says with a lot of flailing of his free arm.

“Stiles! Holy shit, dude-“ Scott starts with a cry in surprise before dialing down the volume of his voice, “that’s a seriously bad idea, holy shit, what if you get caught?”

Stiles rolls his eyes in exasperation. “I’m not going to, because no one’s going to notice.” He assert vehemently.

“But.” Scott starts with what sounds like panic filling his voice. “There could be reptiles there! Snakes!” Scott worries.

“Which is why I have a flashlight.” Stiles tells him as he waves the flashlight around for emphasize even though Scott can’t see it.

“But-“ Scott hesitates.

“Dude, it’ll be fine! The Hales aren’t here and I won’t take long. Seriously, can you think of anything that could go wrong?”

“What if they notice if something is out of place?” Scott asks with worry.

“Scott, they have over ten family members, things probably get moved around all the time, I have a hard time believing any of them would blame me if they even notice a thing out of place.” Stiles points out.

~o~

Stiles doesn’t come across any snakes as he treads through the preserve in the general direction of what Google map and his memories tells him is the Hale residence. He’s carrying items to help pick a lock, his cell phone, and wallet in the pockets of his black cargo pants and a flashlight in his hand. He didn’t need anything else, it would just be a quick inspection to see if he can find anything in the garage, cellar or roof and then other rooms if he has time till Scott gives him a missed call to signal the Hales leaving, which would be Stiles’ cue to lock everything or keep them unlocked the way they were and run the fuck out.

Stiles took out his cell phone to check in case he missed any calls from Scott. It’s been ten minutes or so since he stepped into the woods, so he wasn’t worried, but it didn’t hurt to be careful. The rain had stopped an hour after he’d gone to his dad’s house, but it’d been heavy and Stiles was trying his best to not get stuck on any of the muddy areas in the woods.

He checks his cell phone after what feels like a half an hour later and lets out a relieved sigh, muttering “finally” as he keeps going in the direction of the Hale house that the map on his phone told him wasn’t much further away. He slows down to a stroll when he spies a clearing ahead of him with just a few trees here and there and points his flashlight down as he comes to a stop just in the border between the area of less populated trees with trimmed grass and unruly forest.

The sky was free of clouds indicating it wouldn’t rain tonight, the moon a half circle glowing pale in the sky. The Hale house looked beautiful illuminated by it. Double storied with windows encased in sills painted white running in a line in the second storey and roof, tiled roof a dark color, first storey with huge windows lined framed in white with a dark front door against the paler color of the walls it was set on, the mansion was huge lengthwise.

Stiles hears sounds of something dropping on the ground behind him with a wet thud and secures a hand over his mouth to stop any noise from pouring out. He considers making a run for it and breaking into the Hale house because something just dropped behind him and he sure as hell didn’t hear a helicopter or airplane pass by overhead. For a moment he regrets not bringing a knife because if he’s about to be attacked by an animal with claws or horns he’s not sure his puny human strength and opposable thumbs are going to be of much use or if he’ll be fast enough to take shelter into the Hale house and use his prepared excuse for real, it’s like the universe wanted to prevent him from lying. He hears momentary thuds of what sound like footsteps approaching accompanied by the rustling sound of something brushing against leaves and his eardrums vibrate with the force of his heart pounding against his chest.

Stiles twists around and shines his light toward the ground in the direction of the rustling noise, and his heart almost stops beating for a moment when a pair of shoes splattered with mud steps into the light.

“Oh my God, I am so dead.” Stiles mutters as he just stares at the feet, heart beating overtime to maybe try and escape out of his body since his body was rooted to the spot.

Stiles raised his flashlight slowly, illuminating strong muscled legs clad in jeans –awfully tight jeans, Stiles swallowed, his throat going dry, - and –

The guy wasn’t wearing a shirt.

_The guy wasn’t wearing a shirt._

Stiles feels his jaw drop as he takes in the jut of the guy’s hip bones, ridiculously toned smooth six packs, bulging pectorals with dusty red nipples, thick rippled biceps and forearms with the large fists clenched hard, the round balls of his shoulders, his collar bones, the guy’s neck with his adam’s apple stretching the skin, and-

Stiles was lucky his jaw was hanging open with mouth as dry as his first meatloaf and general speechlessness at the guy’s sculpted physique, it reduced the chances of him blurting out ‘can we fuck’ long enough for him to get his brain to start working to prevent him from blurting out ‘can we fuck’. Also the fact that he just got caught snooping around the Hale property was enough keep him rooted with his mouth wordless in fear.

The guy raises his eyebrows, light colored eyes staring at Stiles steadily with lips pressed into a thin line in probable nuisance on catching Stiles, the sharp cheekbones casting deep shadows over his stubble covered cheek.

Forget claws and horns, those cheekbones and that nose can cut him down and leave him crying, those eyes could fucking leave him for dead and damn, Stiles sure wouldn’t mind if he died right here right now as long as he gets to lick that jaw-

“Uh……you sure it’s such a good idea walking in the woods without a shirt in this weather?” Stiles says while blinks rapidly and tries to think something up to get him out of trouble. Maybe if he ran now and caught a plane to New York he can avoid whatever the guy has planned for him –telling his dad? He’ll get away with that no problems. Telling the Hales? Stiles hopes his death involves a quick and merciful gunshot to the head. Although considering the size of the house that could easily fit torture chambers his luck is probably not that good.

He didn’t even get a chance to sneak into the house.

The guy just gives Stiles a flat look and leans forward, tilting his head pointedly to the ground to his left, eyes never leaving Stiles. Yeah, those eyes were robbing him of his breath a little with their intensity, he feels like putting a ten feet thick lead wall in between the guy and him if he was going to start thinking properly.

Stiles flashes his light in that direction.

There was a sign hammered to the ground leaning against a tree. ‘Private property –no trespassers allowed’

“Oh” Stiles says with a grimace, tongue pocking out between his teeth for him to bite lightly on, readjusting his grip on the flashlight in his sweaty palms.

When he directs the light to the guy again he was looking at Stiles with his eyebrows raised and a smug smile playing on his lips, head tilted to the side. God, the things that smile did to his face, ugh.

“Don’t give me that look,” Stiles says defensively, “that sign is for hobbit sized people, there’s no way an actual human sized adult would notice that.” Stiles ends with pointing an accusing finger at the sign.

The guy just rolls his eyes and steps towards Stiles.

He gives Stiles an incredulous look when Stiles mimics him in stepping back in response. Stiles feels like just jumping the guy’s bones but the trusty rational part of his brain is functioning as properly as ever, much to his relief.

“I’m just going to retrace my steps and find my way back to the road.” Stiles tells him politely and takes another step back. The guy takes a step towards him and stops when Stiles does. Stiles throws his hands up with a huff. The guy gives him a lazy sweet predatory smile at that, eyes crinkled in the corners in amusement. Stiles wants to scream at him to stop doing that because letting the guy get closer was sounding like an increasingly good idea.

“Look, I got lost, okay? I didn’t mean to trespass.” Stiles tells the guy with as much sincerity as he can muster in hopes of getting the guy off his back. Off his back, why would anyone want this guy off their backs, _why._

The smile slips off his face as the guy narrows his eyes at Stiles suspiciously, jaw set in a hard line–and dives towards him.

“Shit-“ Stiles twists and breaks into a run, not stopping and just jumping to gain more ground between him and the guy when he slips in the slippery leaves and mud covering the ground under him, ignoring the sting on his scar, pushing against any tree getting in his way and haphazardly changing directions to get away from the sound of shoes landing on ground at a steady rate right behind him.

Stiles doesn’t get far. It shocks him, to say the least. If there’s one thing he’s always counted on it’s his ability to not get caught on a chase. The guy must be on steroids or something. One moment he’s slipping and running again and the next there’s a pair of arms wrapping around his middle in a tight embrace and sweeping him off the ground, his feet kicking the air and arms twisting aggressively against the limbs pinning them to his body before he’s dropped to the ground. Stiles falls with an ‘omph’, face brushing against the ground and groans at sound of cold slimy mud and leaves crunching under his hands and front.

He wipes a sleeve across his face to get dirt and things he doesn’t dare think about off his face, turning around slowly to lean on his elbows and glare up at the guy, hips wiggling against the feel of a twig pocking at him and legs slipping and moving against a particularly muddy area, the guy staring at his legs when Stiles shines his light on him. Stiles really hopes he wasn’t thinking of chopping them off. He likes his legs, thank you very much.

“Okay, look, I don’t get what your deal is, it’s not like the whole preserve is part of the Hale property, so how the hell is someone supposed to know where to not step?”

The guy shakes his head slowly in disbelief and looks at Stiles with a snort.

He bends slowly so that he’s leaning down to hovering over Stiles, eyes boring into him, Stiles leaning away from him automatically with his elbows slipping and his back hitting the ground. The guy just pins Stiles with one look and reaches a hand towards his flashlight, Stiles glaring at the guy and swallowing hard, their fingers rubbing as he slowly pries Stiles’ clammy fingers off the flashlight despite his death grip on it, and pulling the flashlight away and giving Stiles a warning look when Stiles reaches a hand towards it.

The guy hauls Stiles to his feet with a hand under his arm and shoves the flashlight towards him, waving a hand in an ‘after you’ motion –toward the Hale property.

Yeah, no, Stiles wasn’t going there and waiting for the Hales to come back.

So Stiles bolts in the opposite direction.

Again, he doesn’t get far.

This time though, the guy collides hard with him, Stiles’ head spinning a little at the force disorienting him and pins Stiles to the ground with his body, both of them falling in a heap. Stiles thrashed violently, his breath coming in short pants with his face turned to the side to prevent anything getting inside his mouth.

He stills in with a sharp intake of breath when the guy pins his arms behind his back with a hand shackling both of Stiles’ wrists in a snug grip, the other hand pressed against his chest and actually growls in an inhumane voice, the sound coming out grated and more of the tremor of a roar vibrating through his body where the guy’s chest was against his back than the type of playfully pathetic growls Stiles had heard coming out of a person’s mouth.

“What, you trying to be an animal?” Stiles says in response, voice shaking, the sound of the growl going lower and slipping into threatening silence in response.

Stiles needs to get out of here. There was no way he was letting this guy take him back to the Hale residence. He better just be a caretaker or something, if this guy was a Hale and if the rest of the Hales were mental like this Stiles was so screwed in the worst possible way.

Stiles stills, body going slack in defeat. The guy pauses, Stiles feeling his breath against the back of his neck and the warmth radiating from the guy sipping through his clothes and warming his skin, his body a heavy comforting weight on top of Stiles.

Right when the guy slackens his grip on Stiles, assuming Stiles was going to behave, Stiles twists his body and elbows the guy hard in the face, the guy’s head twisting away and body slipping off him at the impact.

Stiles gets up and breaks into a run again, yelling a sincere “I’m sorry!” at the guy.

It was a regrettable decision, hurting that face. Stiles should’ve kneed the guy in the crotch or aimed a kick at his kidney or something, his elbow was throbbing, what was the guy’s face made of, rocks?

It was a face worthy of being sculpted in marble; that was for sure. Not just the face, the body too.

Stiles was getting really tired of the guy catching up with him. Clearly being a regular in the track team wasn’t going to help his situation here –that was, yeah, that was just fantastic, wasn’t it?

He groans and yells “Aw come on!” at the guy when he grabs him by the shoulder and spins him, pinning him to a tree nearby by the wrists.

“I won’t come here again, okay? Will you for the love of God, just fucking let me go?” Stiles tries, glaring at the guy whose eyes were stormy with rage. The guy flares his nose and rolls his eyes in irritation.

“Look, I’m not going to stop trying to run away, okay? There’s no way I’m stepping into the Hale house.” Stiles spits out, the guy frowning at Stiles’ tone when he says ‘Hale’. He leans back a little, eyes darting all over Stiles’ face searchingly while Stiles glared back at the guy, fists clenched on either side of his head and straining to get out of the warm sweaty grip he had on him. The cut on his torso throbbing from all the running around Stiles was doing using his whole body. It was annoying.

Then he looks conflicted for some reason before asking in a rasping voice, like he hadn’t had something to drink for a really long time, which concerned Stiles a lot because it made him think that maybe the guy lives in the woods and runs around it forever shirtless like a maniac without stopping for food or drink and maybe taking in protein in the form of raw helpless forest herbivores because that would certainly explain his physique but not his carefully trimmed stubble now that Stiles thinks about it, “You’re the sheriff’s son, aren’t you?”

Stiles keeps glaring and doesn’t bother to respond out of discontent, his heart doing a thing to maybe try bound out of his chest at the guy’s words. Great, the guy recognized him –that was just great, just what he needed.

“Stiles, right?”

Stiles scowls at him. The guy has an unsettled look on his face as he stares at Stiles, almost like he’s troubled about something and relaxes his grip on Stiles and Stiles jerks his hand immediately. His grip was like padded handcuffs or something, they wouldn’t even budge. The guy holds his wrists in almost a caress, pressing his thumbs against pulsing points in the delicate skin of his underside, stroking them against them carefully causing the hairs to rise on his arms. Stiles slumps a little letting out a gust of breath feeling weirdly euphoric and realizes that the scar on his torso doesn’t hurt anymore at all for some weird reason.

Stiles takes in the mused up hair, the arch of his thick dark brows, the light colored eyes that looked grey in the light from the moonlight sipping through in between the leaves above them, the guy’s skin glowing pale from the light, high cheekbones that look like they always cast shadows over his cheek dusted with stubble and the smooth arch of the nose, strong jaw, his eyes lingering on the lips. The guy’s face was as perfectly gorgeous as the first time Stiles had seen him. He didn’t even bruise the guy. His elbow probably hurt more than the guy’s face did. Stiles breathed in frustration through his nose, head thumping lightly against the tree, the guy’s head tilting and eyes darting down to take in the stretched neck Stiles was exposing.

Stiles’ heart almost jumps out of his chest. They guys raises his eyebrows and shifts his eyes from Stiles’ neck to look at his eyes with an unreadable expression on his face.

He takes a sharp intake of breath at the assessing gaze the guy was giving him, eyes unwavering in their intensity, lashes casting faint shadows under his eyes. The set of his jaw looking determined, brows crinkled and lips slightly parted, like he was trying to figure something out.

Stiles would really rather the guy was trying to figure out the right way to kiss Stiles than the right way to skin Stiles.

Stiles leans in closer to the guy without breaking eye contact and takes in the guy’s eyes with his pupils blown with just a ring of silver visible which gets thinner the closer Stiles gets. His eyes look like they had a greenish hue. Stiles wonders if they actually have any green in them or if the color of the leaves are reflecting off of them. Wait, isn’t Stiles closer than the leaves? So his eyes are sort of green then? Green or grey or just plain pretty Stiles just wished the guy would do something else besides staring; otherwise Stiles would just stare back till his eyes dried up.

Stiles looks at the guy quietly, his heart hammering against his ribcage and face heating up at the proximity from feeling the gust of the guy’s breath on his face. He doesn’t take his eyes off Stiles, nostrils flaring, eyes blinking and when his eyes waver from Stiles’ eyes to his lips, Stiles doesn’t hesitate to dove forward to meld their lips together, the kiss coming off wet from where the guy opens his mouth in a gasp before stumbling backward releasing Stiles to look at him with face slack in shock, Stiles bolting without a second thought after being freed.

Stiles sprints, running like his life was on the line breathing a stream of ‘omigod’ the whole way.

He just went ahead and actually kissed the guy.

And the guy didn’t follow him luckily to maybe bash his delicate head against something hard.

He’s probably scared of Stiles trying to kiss him again- which is kind of offensive, because Stiles was told time and again that he was a really good kisser by quiet a few people and a girl once that had gotten his lips so swollen and bruised that Allison gasped and demanded what happened to him one night after a particular long and bruising session because the girl was extremely upset after a fight with her best friend and Stiles didn’t have the heart to deny her a make out session in place of letting her vent. He just hadn’t taken the girl’s tendency to bite and extra aggressiveness driven by distress into consideration.

Testimony of people - Stiles Stilinski’s mouth is so good they’ll offer to pay to have it on them.

………………Okay, there was this one time Stiles wasn’t exactly looking where he standing waiting for Barry to pick him after getting lost but hey he got mistaken for a hooker and the girl wouldn’t stop raising the pay while the other hookers glared daggers at Stiles and that is something his dad doesn’t need to know because Stiles didn’t accept and luckily Barry and Thomas were laughing so hard afterwards that Barry slipped and hit his head against a table and they had to rush him to the ER so Stiles being mistaken for a hooker dressed up as a ‘really sexy innocent geek I love your hair I can just imagine grabbing onto it while staring at your gorgeous eyes’ ‘uh…thanks?’ was completely forgotten.

Stiles stops and bends over, panting hard and wrapping his arms around his torso, grimacing at the sting from where it was throbbing again. He parts his jacket plus shirt and breaths out in relief on seeing there were no blood stains on his t-shirt. On lifting it up he just sees the scar looking a little raw. He cautiously pokes at it, not seeing any blood or fluids sipping out or feeling anything collecting underneath, just the jolts of pain from his poking. That was the last time he was doing any running, dying off infection at the age of 23 is not how he’s going. He lets go of his t-shirt and straightens slowly, head feeling a little clearer.

He actually kissed the guy and the guy is probably livid at him right now and Stiles feels like he just forced himself on a person so maybe he should just go tell his dad to lock him up.

On the bright side, he was free and no one could drag him into the Hale house to be interrogated, and if the guy stated that Stiles was in the Hale property tonight, there’s such a thing called lying where Stiles will start with, ‘No I was absolutely not in the Hale property.’ Sure, Stiles doesn’t have his flashlight anymore, but it was a flashlight that was mass produced in millions all over the country. On second thought, Stiles didn’t even step into the Hale property before the guy caught him, Stiles and the guy were clearly on opposite sides of the sign- there wouldn’t even be any lies.

He’d gotten a real good look at the guy’s face, and if he ever sees the guy again he is going to run away so hard he’ll wish he’d ran that hard in sophomore year and gotten first instead of second or third all the time.

Unless the guy wants to kiss Stiles or take him out, because Stiles is completely down with that as long as the guy doesn’t drag him towards anything called ‘Hale’- or punches him for kissing him-he’d be completely justified in punching Stiles. Stiles claps a hand over his mouth and squeezes his eyes shut, trying to convince himself that from the look of things it’s not his fault in thinking there would be kissing and as a result making the first move before the guy’s reaction showed how obviously wrong Stiles was in thinking the guy wanted him even a little to get ride of the sensation of his chest constricting and breath coming short.

~o~

Derek stared in the direction Stiles had run off in, hand drifting up to rub at his tingling lips.

He lets out a snarl and twists to break into a run in the direction away from the sheriff’s son, leaping over a rock and shifting midair and dropping on all fours, proceeding to bound away to get his blood from rushing downward to somewhere useful like his head maybe.

Away from the curve of those lips and that impossible color of those eyes with the arch of those long brows– Derek is surprised the sheriff didn’t just lock his kid up in a tower for the rest of his life because if the Stilinski kid looks like that at the age of twenty three he shudders at the thought of what possible jailbait he had been when he was younger.

Derek had a nagging at the back of his mind that he’d seen that face yesterday but it didn’t hit him till he saw the house he ran into that it was the Sheriff Stilinski’s kid Scott was on skype with from that one time Derek was sent over to call him when his cell phone was switched off in what Derek was sure was a deliberate move.

Derek can’t stop the laughter rising out of him at that memory.

~o~

Stiles walks along the side of the road till it gets late enough for him to wonder if Scott forgot his cue and then some searching on his person to notice that he doesn’t have his cell phone on him when he distinctly remembers taking it with him. Meaning Stiles lost his cell phone at the preserve. He heaves a sigh and starts walking in the direction of Scott’s house. He’s too terrified to go back into the preserve to look for it right now, the gps was on and hopefully no one notices it by the time he goes back for it and the battery’s charge doesn’t run out. He also hopes the Hales would have left town by the time he goes looking for it, but yeah, that’s too far-fetched.

When Stiles walks in through the unlocked front door Scott takes one look at his clothes covered in mud with leaves sticking everywhere and doubles over laughing, Allison drifting into the living room from the kitchen to investigate the sound and hiding her laugh behind a hand, eyes twinkling in amusement.

“Hiking in a forest after it rains? Probably not a good idea.” Stiles tells them with a sigh as he wrestles his muddy shoes off to prevent leaving mud all over the house.

“How many times did you fall down?” Allison asks with a mischievous smile.

“I didn’t exactly fall down. More like a guy tackled me. I think he had a connection to the Hales, in case I disappear and you never find my body.” Stiles tells Scott earnestly. He hopes they don’t leave his body disfigured; he’d love to look dashing as a corpse. Maybe he should have the request tattooed somewhere visible.

Scott frowns. “But the only people that live in the Hale house are the Hales.” He tells Stiles sounding confused.

Stiles ogles at him.

“Wait, but you said that all the Hales were going to be at your house.” Stiles tells him with a whine.

The guy back there was a Hale.

As in Stiles kissed a Hale.

Like it’s not bad enough that Stiles kissed a guy without the guy making a move first –he had no idea what he was thinking, Stiles blames it on the strange feeling euphoria and adrenaline that had made him feel like he do anything he wanted such as lift a car or get into MIT and the guy back there was so hot he definitely fell into the category of things that are unobtainable that Stiles can’t help but objectify from his lack of emotional attachment to and now he finds out that the guy was a Hale, as in the Hales that Stiles got stabbed for because some idiot thought since his dad was nice to the Hales the Hales cared about Stiles and Stiles cared if the Hales got their witty little message and just-

Hale cooties. Ew.

Allison raises a hand and proceeds to count something with a frown. Scott shakes his head in objection, dropping down to sit in one of the arms of one of the couches in the living room. “Stiles, I counted, there were definitely 16 Hales.” Scott messes his hair up by running a hand through it.

“I think there’s 17 Hales now.” Allison tells them, folding an arm around her waist and nibbling on a thumb nail, looking concerned.

Stiles juts his bottom lip out with his brows crinkled and the corners of his mouth pulled down.

Nobody noticed a pregnant Hale was no longer pregnant? Hell, no one even noticed a guy that hot was missing from the crowd?

“What does that mean?” Scott asks, turning to look at Allison in question.

“There was a girl I didn’t see before. I think I heard someone call her Malia.”

“Where did she come from?” Scott mutters.

“Maybe she’s adopted?” Stiles suggests. If the Hales were increasing their numbers again Stiles was going to pack his dad, Scott and everyone’s bags and drag them off out of Beacon Hills with him. The Hales can stay in Beacon Hills with their little insecurities and mess up other people’s lives till they get kicked out of town eventually. Maybe then Stiles can move back in peace without the stress eating away at him.

Allison shakes her head and then stills, frowning. “She looked our age.”

Scott looks furious all of a sudden. “I wasn’t told.” He mutters, voice dangerously low, before standing up and stalking off in the direction of the door, grabbing his keys from the bowl beside a vase freshly filled with flowers and a wedding photo of him and Allison before storming out of the house, throwing a “don’t wait up for me” over his shoulders.

Allison runs to the door, yelling at Scott to take Boyd with him, Scott raising a hand to gesture him catching her words from where he was already seated on his motorbike kick starting it before he rides off.

“Is he going to the Hale house?” Stiles asks.

 Allison nods as she closes the front door, leaning against it to look at him.

“They were supposed to tell him if a new addition was made to the family.” Allison tells him, walking into the kitchen and pulling a plate full of food items they’d made for the dinner covered in saran wrap out of the refrigerator.

“Is Scott supposed to tell them as well? If a new addition is made to his family?” Stiles asks, leaning against the door frame leading to the kitchen and fiddling with the shoes in his hand. That makes Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Lydia and Jackson of all people Scott’s family.

Allison frowns in thought as she stares at the plate heating up before spinning to look at him with confusion. “No, we haven’t thought about adoption, if that’s what you’re asking.” She looks concerned as she crosses her arms across her chest. “Did Scott tell you anything about wanting kids?”

Stiles rushes to dispel her worry, “No, no! Every time I hear something it’s either the Hale family or Argent family, so I assumed Scott has a family too. Again, you have no idea how mafiaesque this all sounds.”

Allison laughs quietly, pulling the plate out and setting it on the counter before looking up at Stiles. “It’s almost considered like that. Scott just has people besides what you can technically consider family, such as you-“

“Me? I’m not even in this.” Stiles can’t help interrupting in response.

Allison looks at him in surprise.

Stiles waves a hand jerkily in dismissal and takes the fork Allison offers him, dragging the plate towards him and popping one of the meatballs in his mouth after prompting, “Nevermind. You were saying?” Allison just gives him a bothered look in response to which Stiles frowns and diverts his attention to his plate, poking the pieces of lettuce to check their crunchiness, face heating up in irritation at him for sounding like a brat needing constant reassurance.

“So- does Scott need to inform the Hales if someone joins his faction?”

“Yes.” Allison tells him.

“Oh hey, and by the way -the Hales probably know I was planning on breaking into their house by now.” Stiles offers listlessly with a grimace.

Allison bits her lips to stop the smile in amusement at the fact that maybe Stiles is going to get cornered the moment he steps out of the house and kidnapped to be interrogated by the Hales -so much evil behind that Disney princess persona. She schools her face to give him a stern look Stiles bets she picked up from Melissa before saying, “Just stay away from the Hales and pretend you don’t know them. Go straight to Scott if anyone bothers you, okay?”

Stiles blinks at Allison. “Really Allison? Go to Scott so that they can tear him a new one because of me? That sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?”

Allison just sighs with her lips twitching into a smile on Stiles’ voice dripping with sarcasm. “Look, you’re worrying too much, you didn’t even do anything! The Hales wouldn’t dare do anything to you, not unless they want us to fault them for something.” Stiles gives Allison’s proud smiling face a dreary look.

Right, he almost forgot the pissing contest the Hales and the Argents have going on.

~o~

The day had started in the worse way possible. Cora had called Derek for assistance at the crack of dawn in bringing Carla home. Apparently their youngest sister of thirteen years of age had had a sudden change of plans and instead of sleeping over at her trusty best friend’s house, had gone off to visit her boyfriend.

Cora had been on her way home from work when she had decided to check up on Carla, only to find, that their dearest youngest sister, apple of their father’s eye, athletic protégée, devious con artist of the family, was not there. Cora had immediately latched onto the parents, demanding the whereabouts of Carla only to find out from little miss Sandra that Carla had gone out the window with promises of returning by six am. Derek had regretted teaching that window trick to her so much the moment he heard the words from Cora’s mouth over the phone.

Thirteen years old. With a thirteen year old boyfriend she’d saved one day from a beating by some jerks and immediately fallen in love with. Same thirteen year old boyfriend trembling all over and looking close to fainting that one time Derek had gone to pick Carla from school. The one with parents stricter than the sheriff was when it came to anyone trying to procure which city his son was in currently. Carla had said he makes her laugh a lot and just needs someone to bring him out of shell.

Thirteen year olds with romantic lives more profound than Derek’s. Although Laura’s love life is equally pathetic, so there’s comfort in that at least.

Derek and Cora had arrived at their destination in time to catch Carla about to sneak out of her boyfriend’s room. Derek was protective of those he loved. He didn’t think it was a big deal since technically everyone was protective of those they loved, so it wasn’t entirely his fault that when he’d climbed into said boyfriend’s bedroom with Cora in tow and asked if Carla was still a virgin. He doesn’t trust kids these days. The boy had gone red and fainted. Carla hadn’t been amused. Cora had muttered about how Carla’s taste in boys was an embarrassment to the family. Derek had been extremely tempted to remind her of that boyfriend of hers from college with the glasses and floppy curls and baggy cardigans. He has a feeling inclination towards various categories of geek ran in the family when it came to his sisters.

Derek and Cora had promptly taken Carla and driven home, Cora already having had picked up her belongings from Sandra’s house.

That hadn’t been the part that completely ruined the rest of the day for Derek, the worse part had been that their mother had noticed their absence - and she’d been concerned about why Derek was out at the crack of dawn. Derek knew the source of her worry and from the irritated look on Cora’s face and that of long suffering on uncle Peter’s, so did they. Carla, bless her, had sensed the tensing atmosphere and the anxiety pouring off from their father in waves, and had deigned to tell their mother exactly why Derek was out at the crack of dawn.

Everyone else hadn’t roused yet. Derek had sat down with his parents and sisters for breakfast and left for the gym immediately, extremely grateful for Alpha McCall’s hours for the gym staying open. There’s so many times he can spend the whole day with Kevin when the three year old made grabby hands at him, and he loves his cousin, he does, but he needed to get his writer’s block out of the way by this month and nothing was working with all the tension all around that started with Stiles being located and then attacked. He doubts they would try it again, not with the Argents looking to crack down on them.

The day doesn’t end there, of course. He gets soaked in the rain, gets suspicious of the sheriff’s son, has to hide an umbrella in his bag in case his mom or Laura sees it and starts asking a tiresome line of questions starting with what he hell he needs an umbrella for.

Then there’s the night of course. He thought getting out of the gathering would be nice and relaxing but nooo, he comes across two ill-tempered mountain lions that won’t leave him alone and ends up with a mouth full of mountain lion fur that he ends up swallowing.

Then Stiles Stilinski comes snooping around.

Derek steps into the Hale property and frowns in confusion on seeing Alpha McCall exiting his house with Erica Hayes and Vernon Boyd in tow.

Scott startles on noticing him. He makes his way towards Derek, Laura observing them warily from the entrance. Scott gives him a small smile and stops just short of him, giving him a nod and “Derek” in greeting. Derek nods back civilly and forgoes any tries at smiling. Hayes and Boyd had noticed and were loitering around their car on the side of the road outside the low walls surrounding the house 

“Do you mind if we talk?” Derek looks at him, trying to think of any reason why he’d need to talk to him, offering a “Go ahead” to prompt him.

Scott lets out a grimace, turning to look back at the Hale house and Laura leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. He turns back to Derek and tells him, “Walk with me?” Derek nods his affirmation. Scott walks back to his bike, getting on with Boyd and Erica following his example and getting in their car, Derek shaking his head on their offers of giving him a ride and just running ahead of them, hearing the sound of engines starting up and following him. He guides them through the road till they are far enough that Laura was just a faceless figure at the door from the distance, Scott stopping with Derek and getting off his bike to face him, Boyd and Erica reaching them and leaving their car to flank their Alpha, neither of them having any idea about what he wanted with Derek if the look of curiosity on their face was any indication.

Derek looks at Scott expectantly. He looks a little undecided before commenting casually, “Didn’t see you at the dinner.”

Derek frowns. “I didn’t think it was as important as a meeting.” If his mother had thought it was absolutely necessary for Derek to be there, he would’ve gone, but it hadn’t been so when he’d decided to stay back his mother had just kissed his cheek and told him to not go too far away from the property. That lack of insistence on Derek being present for a show of good will right there despite it being a casual dinner invitation had been partly to make up for this morning.

Alpha McCall shrugs to showcase his nonchalance. “We could’ve ended up talking about pack business.”

Derek feels his eyebrows rise. “I’m sure I would’ve been informed if it was something noteworthy. Mind telling me if there’s any other reason you’re so concerned about my absence from your dinner?” Derek says in response. Erica puts her hands on her hips and gives him a withering look while Boyd rolls his eyes.

They both whip their heads to look at Scott in surprise when he relents and says unsmilingly, “Yeah, there is, actually.” Derek waits for him to continue. He has a feeling this has nothing to do with Derek and everything to do with Scott’s best friend coming close to trespassing the Hale property. Scott gives him an imposing look and continues. “Did you see a guy with dark hair and brown eyes going through the woods?”

They’re at least amber eyes. Brown is just too simple to fit that color. “I did. I was about to report it to-“

“Don’t!” Scott burst out looking alarmed. Erica and Boyd exchange a concerned look. “There’s no need for that, he’s harmless.” Scott presses.

Derek crosses his arms. He knows just how harmless humans can be. “I’m not willing to take that risk. You didn’t hear the way he said my family’s name, like it was poison in his mouth.” 

“I think anyone would when they get stabbed on your family’s behalf.” Erica drawls casually. Now it was getting ridiculous, it wasn’t their fault if some people still thought the sheriff was their lackey when they weren’t doing anything to promote the idea. The sheriff just ended up taking their side most of the time because they were on the side of fairness, he wasn’t someone that could be influence.

Scott looks irritated. “Stiles wouldn’t do anything. He just wants to understand what’s going on.”

Derek shakes his head. It doesn’t matter if people want to know what’s going on, it isn’t their business. Stiles gets stabbed because of it, and Derek gets that an explanation is owed, but from what he gathered Stiles Stilinski already knows it happened because they assumed he was associated with the Hales because of the Sheriff.

Stiles doesn’t need to know more than that. His dad knows because they needed the sheriff to understand. The rest know because they’re werewolves, hunters, or a banshee. 

Derek doesn’t know what sort of person Stiles is or what he’ll do after finding that werewolves exist.

“That doesn’t mean you should let him.” Derek comments.

Scott looks angry. “He’s my best friend. He’s pack.”

“And how do you think he’s going to react when he finds out he’s in a pack and his best friend is an alpha werewolf?” Derek challenges. “You think he’s going to ask for the bite? Or call you a monster and join the Argents?”

“He’s not Kate.” Scott counters through grit teeth. Derek grinds his teeth together, sensing Erica and Boyd tensing up.

“This isn’t about Kate.” Derek spits out. “What makes you so sure Stiles won’t leave your side? Skype calls don’t mean you know what he’s getting up to outside of your knowledge. How do you know he won’t start fearing you? How do you know he won’t toss your friendship away the moment he learns the truth?”

Scott clenches his hands into fists and glares at Derek. Boyd looks troubled and Erica looks furious. McCall just looks like he’s in denial. Derek has a feeling he hadn’t considered Stiles reacting badly on finding his best friend was a werewolf. It’s like he counted on Stiles just accepting him no matter what, it makes Derek wonder how much Scott had told him already and if Stiles had just accepted it all on account of it being his best friend. No wonder he didn’t think it to be much of a big deal for Stiles to know.

“Don’t let him come here like that again. I won’t tell anyone he was here.” Derek offers as evenly as he can and without sounding belittling as a deal to the alpha.

Scott looks a little crushed. He just stares at a spot over Derek’s shoulder with an uneasy look on his face before he heaves a deep breath in defeat and nods reluctantly in agreement, still looking uneasy at the prospect. Derek wonders if it’s at the thought of trying to get someone as unrelenting as Stiles to listen to him, if how he refused to be taken into the Hale property was any indication. Scott turns to get on his bike, Boyd and Erica already in their car and driving away slowly. Scott looks at the ground with a frown, lost in thoughts, before looking up at Derek in determination.

“I don’t want anyone to keep thinking Stiles has anything to do with the Hales. Stay away from him.” McCall tells him. Derek nods in affirmation. Derek isn’t sure how Alpha McCall is going to handle finding he had ended up interacting with Stiles everyday since his arrival, but he’s sure it isn’t going to be calmly.

Alpha McCall gives him a searching look before kick starting his bike and riding off.

Derek watches them go and then turns around and starts walking in the direction of the house in a stroll.

He hears sounds of screaming and heaves a sigh as he watches an extremely stressed Peter looking just on the verge of hysteria stomping out of the house with a disgruntled Kevin in his arms. After reaching Derek he promptly deposits Kevin into Derek’s arms and sighs in relief when Kevin stops yelling.

“Not that I averse to all your bonding time with your cousin, but do tell me how you keep him under control like that and spare me the migraines nephew.” Peter comments despairingly as he eyes Kevin playing with Derek’s hair looking perfectly calm and content. Peter always stresses when Kevin is upset, and when Kevin senses the stress of others around him, he gets even more upset, and it escalates till someone else comes in and calms either Kevin or Peter down. Derek just feels the fight drain out of him the moment he gets an innocent child in his arms.

Derek shifts Kevin till he’s properly in his arms. “Where’s Aunt Lucy?”

“Coating the bathroom with the contents of her dinner, why else did you think I decided to bother you on your lovely moonlight stroll with the McCall pack?” Peter quips.

Derek gives him a withering look. “Maybe you should’ve learned to handle one before deciding to bring a second into the world then.” Kevin had started singing that blasted song Sophie’s been playing to motivate herself after getting a ‘C’ on Math. She always puts her headphones on but the teenager isn’t the one with werewolves for parents. Kevin is, and whenever he hears anything that catches his attention he latches onto it immediately.

“What can I say; it’s hard to deny my lovely wife anything.” Peter says with a sardonic smile. Derek hears the truth in his voice. Six years ago he wouldn’t have thought Peter of all people would meet his match and end up getting besotted and eventually hitched.

Derek rolls his eyes and starts walking in the direction of the house. “What was Alpha McCall doing here?”

Peter gets in step with him. “He was curious about why the Hale family all of a sudden added an adult to the family.”

Derek snorts. “You told them that about Malia?”

“It completely slipped my mind.” Peter tells Derek. Derek raises his eyebrows at him in question.

“Alpha McCall noticed Malia had replaced you after the dinner was well over and we had reached home.” Derek gives him an incredulous look. Peter gives him a bitter smile in return. “You can ask Laura.”

Derek shrugs. “Her existence in general has been causing a lot of trouble.” He comments, giving Peter a judging look.

Peter scowls in irritation. “Need I remind everyone about how I have no recollection of how she came to be, courtesy of my dearest sister, might I add?”

Derek hisses, “Couldn’t your past self had at least practiced being safe?” When Malia’s origins came to be discovered Aunt Lucy hadn’t been pleased. It had been a week till she talked to Peter again, despite Peter’s insistence of it having occurred long before he met Lucy.

Malia’s origins still remain a mystery since Talia had freed Peter of the memories. Peter hadn’t asked for the memories back, he’d said it didn’t matter and had just flippantly accepted Malia’s existence. Derek doesn’t know what she wanted with introducing herself to the Hale family after so long; no one truly considered her part of the family despite her relation to them by blood. Talia had invited her along with the intention of Peter introducing her to Scott to keep him informed of her existence.

Derek frowns. “Scott didn’t notice Malia?” Peter smirks. “No. He seemed a little preoccupied with stressing about something.” He looks at Derek with amusement apparent in his face. “Scott thought the Hale pack had made a new human addition to the family without consulting him.”

Derek heaves a breath. He knows where this was going. “He’s always looking for loopholes that will let him tell sheriff Stilinski’s son.”

Peter hums in agreement. “I wonder what Stiles thinks of all this.”

Derek thinks back to Stiles coming close to trespassing into the Hale property in search of anything to make sense of the crazy around him.

Derek presses his lips into a thin line in agitation. “If he’s anything like his father, the mysteries must be tearing his mind apart.”

Peter makes a face full of mock pity before saying, “Poor Stiles.”

“He doesn’t have any money?!” Kevin shouts sounding extremely distressed on Stiles’ behalf right at Derek’s ear, making him cringe at the volume. Peter sighs in a long suffering manner before he proceeds to try explaining the different meanings of ‘poor’ in the simplest way possible for a 3 year old to understand.

~o~

…………………

………………………………

………………………………………

……………Derek Hale has an umbrella to return. There’s no way he’s keeping that thing.

~o~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of supernatural events that occurred in Beacon Hills after Stiles left in chronological order:
> 
> -Scott's first full moon  
> -Allison finds out about werewolves  
> -Lydia's banshee powers are awakened and Scott's powers as a true alpha are unleashed (ahaha dog jokes, get it, because like 'unleashed'..so like..like...yeah okay I'll shut up now)  
> -Isaac joins pack McCall  
> -Erica and Boyd join pack McCall  
> -Jackson is bitten but turns into a kanima, is killed, comes back to life as a werewolf  
> -Jackson joins pack McCall  
> -Derek comes back to Beacon Hills (I hope you enjoyed college bby)  
> -Gerard is killed by Deucalion because Gerard blinded him in the first place and was always highest in his list of people to strangle to death, the very list which had the name of that one cutiepie beta that attacked Deucalion because he wanted the red flashy eyes and who Deucalion killed before proceeding to kill his whole pack instead of just going after the guy that blinded him in the first place and giving his pack a chance because maybe not everyone wants the red flashy eyes. Also Deucalion strangles Gerard to death, watching the eyes pop out and everything. No alpha claws going deep. Or teeth.
> 
> I hope I didn't confuse anyone with the jump in time line, I'm sorry if I did ^^"
> 
> SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3B LIKE I THINK YOU'VE ALL SEEN IT BUT STILL :
> 
> Also, does anyone else think it's weird that Braeden got curved up by Deucalion with his claws going so deep they left those huge welted scars but Braeden is still human? Like I'm just really disappointed, I kind of maybe wanted her to join Scott's pack with the two of them riding their bikes to places together and stuff ._.
> 
> Also I feel like the author's note is too long but there's still like over 3000 characters left so I think it's okay.


End file.
